Finding Bus
by CarsCars2Fanatic
Summary: Foxy finds a large, mainly white, severely beaten up bus on the side of the road, passed out and nearing death. Together, her and Doc manage to get him awake, but he's completely miserable towards her, and anyone else because of his troubled past. Can she turn him around, using only her friendly nature, or will he be permanently miserable? Rated Kplus for swearing and bloody scenes
1. Chapter 1

He awoke in one fiery, explosive, throbbing burst of pain. Where was he? His vision was completely blurred to the point of near-blindness. All he could discern were colors, but only slightly. He didn't even know if he was right side up, or upside down, or what. It was like he was in some sort of limbo between reality and… something else. He didn't hear anything, but that could've just been because his hearing seemed to be shot. He tried shaking his front to gain his hearing and possibly his vision, but all he got was another explosive burst of pain. He couldn't tell if he shouted or not, but he felt fast movement going by him at all angles. He finally succumbed to the intense pain, and began drifting farther and farther into the inky black nothingness that was quickly overtaking him.

* * *

><p>Foxy and Doc had heard the large bus shout, and quickly raced towards the clinic, only to find that their patient was awake, but only slightly.<p>

"Foxy, get that thing on him!" Doc bellowed, seeing that the bus was fading quickly.

"I'm working on it!" She exclaimed, her fingers flying as fast as they could go as she worked to get a specialized IV attached to the vehicle.

Finally the two were rewarded with a slow, faint beeping, showing the car's pulse. Foxy's next task was waking the bus up again. "Hey, come on, you've gotta wake up." She ordered, giving his front a gentle shove, being mindful of the numerous dents and gouges scattered across the bus' front.

"You gotta mean it, Foxy."

"Okay. You're going to want to go over to Flo's. This is going to be loud and forceful."

Doc nodded, and exited the room. He was barely out of the doors when a piercing shout rang through the air, startling him and the others, who were at Flo's.

"What was _THAT_?"

"Foxy, I think…"

"Doc, it worked!"

In a flash, he had rejoined her, seeing the bus looking down at Foxy with a mixture of wariness, fear, and aggression.

"Can you hear me?" She asked clearly, and the bus nodded, then cringed.

"Yes. I can hear you. Now, who are you? Wh-" The bus tried clearing his throat to get rid of the raspy sound his voice was carrying. "What are you?"

"I'm Foxy. I'm a human. Do you remember what happened to you? We found you nearly dead by the side of the road."

"No, I don't. How long have I been here?"

"Nearly a week. Why?"

"I'm off schedule." The bus muttered, and Foxy looked at him curiously.

"Off schedule? Off schedule for what?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter anymore."

"No, you've obviously tried to plan something out, which means that it's extremely important."

"I'm telling you, it's nothing. I normally don't like to stay in one place for too long. I start getting attached to that place."

"You mean that you don't like to make attachments?"

"No."

"All right, I'm sorry that I asked." Foxy replied stiffly, and the bus just grunted, giving her a half-lidded look of boredom, disinterest, and slight irritation. Foxy sighed, then departed, leaving Doc to work on the bus.

"So, he's awake?"

"Yeah. And a right pain in the ass."

"**_AHEM._**"

"Something wrong, Sheriff?" Foxy asked, looking his way with a smile, knowing full well that he didn't especially like her use of colorful language.

"Yer language is what's wrong."

"What? English? How about I say it in German?" She gestured with her thumb back towards the clinic, then mumbled, "_Arschloch_." **(Asshole)**

Lightning and Mater laughed aloud, as did Foxy, but Sheriff wasn't as amused. "One of these days, Foxy. Yer mouth is gonna get ya in mighty big trouble."

"I'd love to meet that day. I'll tell it exactly what I think of it."

The others laughed, and Sheriff sighed, irritation setting in.

"Hey, not my fault that the guy's a prick. He's very grumpy, and refuses to answer any of my questions. Instead, he wants to know when he can leave."

"For a second, I wasn't sure if you were talking about Doc or not." Lightning snickered, and Foxy glared at him.

"Lightning, sometimes you manage to dig a hole so big, you not only get yourself stuck in it, but you manage to put all four of your tires in your mouth at the same time."

"Does that translate to 'Lightning, shut up before I come over there and beat some sense into you.'?"

"Yes, it does."

Lightning nodded, then fell silent.

Foxy gave him a look, then continued. "Anyways, he just seems so… miserably aggressive… if that makes sense…"

"That's better." Sheriff replied, and Foxy arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"I know lots of German curses, Sheriff. Don't make me pull out some of the better ones."

"If ya do, I'll have ya hauled away to a lab to be tested painfully on."

Foxy instantly shut her mouth, and snuggled against Fillmore's side, remaining silent. This was the only way to get her to behave when she got into one of her 'moods', which normally contained rebellion and witty comebacks.

* * *

><p>Doc rolled over to Flo's later that afternoon, looking pleased now that the bus was awake for more than a few minutes.<p>

"Did you get a name out of him?"

Doc shook his hood, and Foxy sighed. "I've got a few tricks to make him talk…"

"If it involves swearing, I forbid ya from usin' it." Sheriff cut in, giving her a stern look.

She instantly withered under his gaze, then nodded. "All right, then I'll just use something else…"

"Good girl." He chuckled, ruffling her hair and ears with a tire.

"Hey, come on, knock it off! I actually brushed my hair this morning!"

"You did?! Then I guess I'm gonna hafta mess it up!" He replied with a chuckle, and began moving his tires all through her hair, looping the right side onto the left, and vice versa, and just generally knotting it in various places.

Foxy clearly wasn't enjoying any of it, judging by how far she was slouched forwards, an extremely irritated expression present on her face.

When Sheriff finally pulled away, her hair was sticking up at odd angles, and was extremely knotted.

"Are you quite finished?" She asked him with a hint of venom in her voice. Her hair was a touchy subject, namely since it was so long, it could easily have something happen to it.

Sheriff chuckled, then brought another chunk of hair up over her face. "There ya go! Ya look a million times better!" He replied, making the others laugh.

Foxy wasn't laughing as she gave everyone an icy glare, then she stood up, looking like a giant furball.

"Where ya goin'?"

"For my brush." She replied with a slight snap in her tone, looking directly at Sheriff. She looked like an 80's rocker as she walked away, and the others waited until she was out of earshot to begin laughing and commenting on her hair.

"Gotta admit, ya did pretty good, Sheriff. I ain't seen her that mad in a while." Doc replied, chuckling.

Hearing his friend say that made Sheriff begin snickering, and soon the two were laughing hysterically. Once they had stopped, still snickering from time to time, Foxy was nearing Flo's.

She entered, and gave Sheriff a glare before sitting down and trying to get the brush through her hair. Abruptly, she heard a noise like a stifled snicker, and looked around.

What she didn't see was Sheriff grinning like a moron at his accomplishment and trying not to laugh. He cast a glance over at Doc, which was a mistake.

Doc instantly began grinning, trying not to laugh. He shook his hood, but this seemed to make Sheriff think it was okay to start laughing quietly. The two completely lost it after that, laughing hysterically once more.

Foxy leaned forwards to see around Sarge, looking at the two of them oddly. "What is so funny?"

"Yer hair, Foxy!" Sheriff exclaimed, which of course set off the others, although none of them laughed harder then Sheriff or Doc.

"Huh, everybody's a critic…" She grumbled, rolling her eyes at the giggling coming from Lightning's direction. She instead set her sights on disentangling her hair. She first tried to work through it with her fingers, and got to a certain point. She began using the brush to get rid of any snags, and finally, an hour later, her hair was smooth and fluffy again.

"Aww, I liked it the other way." Sheriff remarked, and instantly began snickering, Doc having long since gone to the Butte to try and regain his composure. Without Doc there to egg him on, he was able to gain control pretty quickly, at least until Foxy peered around Sarge at him again.

"What is your problem today, Sheriff? You never laugh this much…"

He shook his hood. "I think yer the one with the problem, Foxy. A hair problem." With that, he began chuckling, and pulled out of Flo's, going to make his rounds. His laughter drifted back to Foxy, who looked irritated once more.

"He's lost it. Bigtime."

The others chuckled, and gradually returned to their own business.

Foxy stood up, going to check on the bus in the clinic.

**First chapter, and Foxy's attitude shines through like the sun. XD There will be a Kplus warning on this story, just for this chapter, and some slighty bloody scenes later on. Au Reviour, little biscuits! I don't own anyone except Nikki, Thunder, the other children, Foxy, and this bus!**


	2. Chapter 2

When she pushed the doors open, she was slightly unnerved to find him watching her with that same expression. "You all right?" She asked.

He grunted, then replied, "Don't know why all of you are being so nice to me. I don't deserve it. After all, this was all my fault." He replied, gesturing to his injuries and cringing at the resulting pain.

"We couldn't have just left you to die. That's cruel." The pair were silent for a minute, then Foxy spoke up again. "You said that this was all your fault? How?"

"I started the fight with those tuners."

"The DRH?"

"No, a different gang. Not these morons."

Foxy's expression darkened when he called The DRH morons, but she didn't say a word about it. "What were you all fighting about that they beat you up this badly?"

"My being a bus, a gas guzzler, and the lowest of the low."

"Who told you that?"

"I did, when I got out of the orphanage I was placed in."

"That's awful!"

"You think that's the worst of it? Try keeping enough money on tire to get fuel every week and a coffee every few weeks. Try having no place to call your own, and no steady job because no one wants a bus working for them."

Foxy was speechless, opening and closing her mouth soundlessly. She hadn't expected this much fury from the bus when she had entered.

"Yeah, you heard correctly. So don't sit there and tell me that it's 'awful'. What you should've said was 'every day sounds like a living hell to go through.', because that's what it feels like. A living hell." The bus looked down at her, the one muddy, dull brown eye that was functioning watching her for a reaction, his frown deepening.

"Who are you?" She asked after a long silence.

"Bus. Just Bus."

"No, I meant for real."

"Bus. I was never given a proper name, so I named myself as soon as I was sure what I was."

"Well Bus, you've convinced me."

"Of what?"

"That you need a place with plenty of coffee, a good home, and cars who don't judge you."

"When did I ever say that?"

"You didn't. The way you explained your life, it sounds like you need a home. I've got the perfect one in mind."

"Yeah? And where is this 'perfect home for a worthless being'?"

Foxy gave him a gentle glare. "You're not worthless, and you're in the clinic of said perfect home."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I figured you would. That's because Doc likes to keep these curtains closed. Me, on the other hand…" With that, she pulled up the blinds with the cord, letting the light filter in. "There. Now take a look for yourself."

Bus took a quick glance out the window, then returned to his own dark, depressing thoughts.

"Look again. This time, I want you to tell me what you see."

He gave her a glare, which she returned. He sighed after a glaring match, then looked outside. "I see… lots of buildings. Cars over at the one that looks like a gas station. A giant rock formation behind the building at the end of the road. A giant tower of tires. A statue in front of the building at the end." He looked to her again, an eyelid arched. "Are we finished here?"

"No. You touched upon it, but that was it. Those cars? They're all welcoming. They're also drinking plenty of coffee. They're also happy." That last sentence seemed to touch a nerve with Bus as he gave her a small snarl, paired with a growl. "Go ahead and growl at me. I really don't care. In fact, I'll growl right back. Hell, if you really make me mad, I know plenty of German curses."

He blinked once, confusion settling into his features slightly. The snarl faded, and he looked down at her with a slight peak of interest. "German curses? What do German curses have to do with anything?"

"They're useful for hurling at anyone that makes you mad, and you can't beat on them. I just prefer German since I'm mostly German mixed with Polish and Hungarian, and I don't know much Polish."

"And you didn't try to kill me why? You've got the perfect opportunity."

"I wouldn't kill you. Heck, you could probably flatten me without trying."

"Great, another reason I'm hard to like. I'll flatten anyone that tries to do anything."

"Oh, stop. I didn't mean it like that."

"That's what it sounded like."

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that."

Bus grunted, then looked to her again. "So, what are you again? I mean, I see ears and a tail, so you've got to be some sort of animal, but I've never come across one that could talk. And curse in German." He asked, arching an eyelid slightly.

"I'm not just any animal. I'm a human. It's an otherworldly version of a car, I guess. Except we've got cars that don't talk, or move unless the humans want them to. I've got ears and a tail because I came up with… an alter ego, if you will, and it's a fox with human characteristics. The legs look like a human's." She gestured to her jeans. "The arms and body structure are like a human's." She demonstrated this movement by cracking her spine, bending over backwards. "The only thing that's different is we've got ears, a tail, and paws or whatever. I don't have paws for two reasons. One, it looks sort of silly. Two, I think it would be a little hard to pick things up if I wore paws all the time."

"So, you pretty much think of yourself as a fox-human hybrid thing?"

"No, that's how it would be drawn out. I just thought having ears and a tail would make it easier for the others to pick up on my emotions. That, and I needed some sort of camouflage to blend in at races, even if it's a pretty flimsy disguise."

"Interesting." He replied, even though it didn't seem too interesting to him at all.

"Most cars find it a bit more… intriguing, to say the least…"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not like any other car."

"Yeah, I sort of figured that out."

* * *

><p>Doc rolled into the clinic, carrying a can of oil and covered in a layer of dirt. He blinked in surprise at finding Foxy and Bus apparently talking freely.<p>

"Doc, you're covered in dirt."

He blinked again, then looked down at his hood. "Yeah, that happens, Foxy."

"You look like you've been rolling in it." She gave him a teasing grin, an eyebrow arched.

He just waved a tire at her with a roll of his eyes and rolled past the two, going to his garage.

"He's no fun to tease anymore now that he's used to it." She grumbled, and heard something she thought she'd never hear out of Bus: a chuckle.

"Could be why he's no fun."

Foxy looked at him in confusion.

"As in, 'you tease him too often'?"

"Yeah, I guess so. He's retired from racing."

"**_HEY!_** What did I tell ya about usin' that word?!"

Foxy giggled as Doc's defensive shout came from his garage. "What word?" She taunted, giving Bus a grin. He chuckled again, enjoying this more than he thought possible.

"That 'r' word!"

"Racing?"

"No! Retired!"

Foxy's laughter rang through the clinic and his garage, and he scowled, setting the can down on a counter in a free space as he grabbed an old rag to get rid of the dust and dirt that covered his frame. He reentered the clinic a few minutes later, having gotten most of the dirt off.

"Why don't you like that word, Doc?" Foxy asked, trying not to grin. She knew the answer already, and just wanted to tease him.

"Because it means 'old'! I am not old!"

Foxy didn't respond, and instead just began smiling, trying not to laugh.

"I'm not!"

"I'm not laughing at that." She replied, seeing that he had dirt going in a line up and over his hood, right in the center.

"Huh?" He looked down and noticed the strip. He sighed, then went to grab the rag again.

Foxy exploded with laughter, tossing her head back.

"Come on! It ain't funny!"

"Yes it is! You look like you tried to give yourself a brown racing stripe!" She squealed, still giggling.

He grumbled, then tossed the rag at her. "Fine. Then ya do it, since ya think it's hysterical." He replied, and she shrugged.

"Okay, no biggie. If you wanted me to do it, you could've asked ages ago." She replied nonchalantly, wiping the dirt away on his hood first.

He glared at her, but said nothing.

She started with his roof next, swishing the rag this way and that to get rid of the stripe. Finally she got down to his trunk, and that was when the dust caught up with her. She sneezed once, the force of it sending her flying backwards, where she landed on her rear end.

Doc began laughing at her, and she gave him a glare.

"Cut it out!" She exclaimed before promptly sneezing again, managing to shoot herself back a few feet. This only made him laugh harder, and even Bus was chuckling from his spot on the lift. She sneezed again, and it sent her backwards into the wall.

"Yer done now." Doc told her, still laughing slightly.

She gasped, feeling the need to sneeze again.

Doc began laughing again at her facial expression, her mouth wide open, tongue curled up and one eye squeezed shut. She sneezed once more, looking and sounding like a horse as she sneezed downwards, shaking her head at the same time.

"Bless ya, Foxy."

She sniffled, then shook the rest of the dirt out of her hair. "Thanks, Doc." She stood up, then tossed the rag onto his hood. "Your stripe is gone." She replied, earning a look before he turned and went to put the rag away, shaking his hood and mumbling about 'crazy humans' and how he managed to get stuck with one that was so taunting. Foxy smiled fondly as she listened, knowing that he found her highly amusing. "Now, where were we?" She asked, looking at Bus.

"Dunno. So, you're really a human?"

"Yeah, I'm a human. Why aren't you more surprised?"

"They sing about humans all the time in the stuff I like."

"What types of songs?"

"Don't Fear the Reaper, AC/DC, that sort of thing."

"Ohhhh, you're a classic rock fan! So am I!"

"Really? Favorite song?"

"Definitely Moneytalks or Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap."

"I like you. And that's saying something, since I tend to either ignore or hate everyone."

"I'm honored." Foxy replied, giving him a smile.

He watched her intently for a minute, then he slowly matched her smile, looking completely out of his element.

Foxy giggled, and the smile was gone in an instant.

"What's so funny?"

"You."

"Me? I'm boring and depressing and aggressive. I'm not funny."

"No, you're definitely funny. Not aggressive or boring." She replied, walking over to his side. "Hmm…" She began walking around to his right side slowly, and continued to his back. She completed her slow circuit around him by coming up his left side and stopping in front of him. "You're pretty badly damaged, apart from what we had to fix just to get you to wake up and be somewhat competent."

"I figured, given the fact that I can't move without a bolt of pain going straight through a tire or whatever."

"Hmm…" With that, she was underneath him on a crawler, oblivious to his eyes widening. "Well here's your problem!" Her voice came out from underneath his front, and he sighed with relief. "Your axle's bent! Man, those thugs really did a number on you."

"That's from years ago, I just never got it fixed." He replied hesitantly, and she rolled out to look up at him, still on the wheeled board.

"Why not? Ohh right. Never mind." She gave him a sorrowful expression, then returned to her previous spot.

He was unnerved by her nonchalance at being underneath him, and remained still, unsure what her intentions were.

* * *

><p>"Where's Foxy?" Doc had just entered, and was now looking around the clinic. He took in Bus' stiff, unsure expression, and chuckled. "She does it to every car that comes in here. You've got nothin' to worry about."<p>

"Oh yes he does! There's plenty of things wrong here from his fighting!" Her indignant voice sounded from underneath Bus, making Doc chuckle. "Hey, Doc. that is you, right?"

"Yeah, who else would it be?"

"I dunno, Sheriff trying to sound like you to screw with me?"

Doc chuckled again, then asked what she wanted.

"A wrench, and the socket set."

"A wrench. _A wrench._ There's over twenty wrenches here, and ya want a wrench. Not one wrench, but A wench. I ain't a mind reader, kid. I thought I trained ya better."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm not sure which one I'll need. How about… one of every medium-to-large sized wrench? I'll have to eliminate which one works, and which ones don't."

Doc chuckled, then passed her a wrench.

There was a pause, then she rolled out, shaking her head. "Too small."

He handed her another, and she darted underneath Bus again.

"Hmm…" Was heard, then an exclamation. "This one!" She called, making the two males chuckle.

"Glad to help, Foxy."

"I should be saying the same thing to you, Doc."

"Darn right ya should."

"Oh, go talk to Sheriff. I'm working, and listening to you laugh at me isn't helping."

"Ya sure?"

"Yes, I'm completely sure. I know where everything is by now."

"All right, ya know where I'll be.."

"Yes, I do, goodbye." She replied, making Bus and Doc chuckle.

Doc left shortly, and Foxy continued working. "Jeez, what did they do? Roll you over and beat you up from the bottom up?"

Bus made a noise, and Foxy rolled out. "I'm serious. Did they?"

He gave her a look, as though saying, 'What do you think?'.

"I'll take that as a yes." She sighed, then went back to work.

* * *

><p>She continued working for the rest of the day, and only stopped when Doc chased her out, telling her to go get some sleep or a coffee. Reluctantly, she went over to Fillmore's for some sleep, and Doc watched to make sure she wouldn't try sneaking back in. "She's got plenty of will to work, it's gettin' her to stop that's the problem." He chuckled, seeing Bus watching the doors with a confused expression.<p>

Doc went to bed shortly after, but Bus remained awake for a long time, thinking over the day in his mind, and how he had acquired his first real friend.

It still puzzled him, how he had made a friend so quickly, and without wanting to. Most cars ignored him, some even attacked him, but not her. She was different. Completely different. She seemed like she wanted to be around him, to talk to him, to help him. This was what puzzled him. he had been in an orphanage from the time he was a few hours old until he was ten, and even then, he wasn't treated with kindness, just because the car that ran the orphanage had too many children to take care of there. He remembered the day he ran away, not looking back once at the dull, gray, faded and run-down building that had been his place of living for ten long years. From there, he had lived the nomadic lifestyle, seeing the rest of the country, and how cold and heartless every car was becoming. His attitude had quickly changed to reflect that, and if a car wanted to fight him, he would fight, no matter if he won or lost. He did it to prove that he didn't care, that he was just a hollow shell, that he didn't care if he lived or died. He had come extremely close numerous times, but had hid out until the pain went away. After that, he had moved on, heading to another town, where he would do the same thing all over again.

He emerged from his thoughts gradually, and sighed, trying to fall asleep. It took him a long time to fall asleep, as it normally did. Too much thinking, and worrying, and planning, and… and… Whatever else there was that kept him awake, he couldn't tell, because he began to drift into a doze, the quiet of the clinic drastically different then the noises of the other cities he had been in. His doze deepened, until he was finally in a deep sleep, something that rarely happened to him. He had taught himself how to doze lightly, to avoid being ambushed and attacked by any car that would try to destroy him, since he was a gas-guzzler. At last, all was silent in the clinic, and throughout the town.

All that remained was the lone yellow traffic light, the middle light flickering on and off, on and off, on and off.

**For those of you who have been asking about why Foxy thinks of herself as a Fox, and similar questions, I hope this answers your questions. :)**

**So, we get to find out more about Bus' life before Foxy and Doc found him. Seems like he's had it pretty rough. and even at the orphanage. The real reason he escaped when he was ten wasn't because the orphanage was overflowing with children, it was because the owner wasn't paying him any mind, although he assumes that it was his fault.**

**So, will Foxy be able to win Bus over, or will he disappear, just another being who thinks he's worthless to the world? Find out next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

In the morning, he blinked his eyes open sleepily, looking around blankly, still too tired to register anything. He shifted slightly, and heard a sharp gasp. "Whozat?" He asked alertly, his eyes widening, though the sleepy look didn't leave them.

"It's just me. I thought you were still asleep."

He recognized the voice, but couldn't find its owner. "Where are you?" He asked, sweeping the room with both eyes, realizing that he could see out of them, and that the glass wasn't cracked any longer.

"Down here. Same spot as yesterday." She reached up and placed her hand along the bottom edge of his right side, and he stiffened in a hurry. Foxy giggled quietly, then rolled out to greet him properly. "You were out harder then I think I've seen anybody…"

He looked at her in confusion, and she smiled.

"You were sleeping like a rock. Better?"

His expression brightened slightly with understanding, then he yawned widely. Directly into her face.

She shut her eyes tightly and drew back, then began laughing quietly again once he was finished. "Dude, four words. Worst. Morning. Breath. Ever."

He chuckled, then sighed. "Sorry."

"It's all right. I'm sure that mine's even worse since I drink black coffee every morning."

"Black? No cream?"

"Yep. Cream and Sugar gives me a caffeine rush."

"But… black coffee is PURE caffeine. With cream and Sugar it's diluted."

"I know, I don't get it either." She replied, then got back to work, again noting how stiff he got. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"You get… I dunno… jumpy-like every time I try to go under."

He didn't respond, but felt the area underneath his eyes heat up in a blush.

When she didn't get a response, she rolled out, curious. She took one look, and understood. "Perv. I'm not looking. I've already got someone, and nothing's happened between even us."

He gave her a meaningful look, paired with an arched eyelid. "Hey, doesn't matter to me if you know. I trust you. Just like everyone else here. I've almost got to trust them though."

"Why?"

"Why do I have to trust them? Because I get the feeling that if I don't, they'll have me hauled away to some lab to be tested on, and then I'd be completely miserable."

"Not that. Why do you trust me? I mean, you haven't known me all that long."

"There's a saying Doc came up with to describe me. It goes: 'She can be the best of friends with anyone, and trust anyone to the ends of the planet, but break the trust, and she's gone.' So far, you haven't done anything to break my trust. Yes, you've been a miserable bus the first few hours, but hey, anyone would, given the life you've had."

Bus chuckled, and Foxy looked up at him.

"Am I allowed to get back to work?"

He gave her an unamused look, and she grinned. He rolled his eyes, then sighed. "Fine. Just… watch it."

"You don't need to worry. I've done this kind of thing millions of times."

"That many?"

"Maybe not that many, but I lost count. Besides, saying that big of a number makes it sound like I know what I'm doing. Which I do. So just chillax and we can talk while I work."

Bus chuckled at that, and asked her how she got to town.

"Long time ago. I wished on a star for a place that my dad's Corvette could go so he wouldn't get sold, and where I could visit him. Been here ever since." She replied, already working on getting the faulty wires and pipes removed, then fixing or replacing them properly.

* * *

><p>The two fell into a comfortable silence, Foxy working and Bus thinking over their conversations. He yelped abruptly and went as stiff as a board, then cringed, moaned and sank back down.<p>

"Sorry. You had a pretty good-sized cactus spine wedged there." She replied, and he grumbled, shifting his rear axle. She sighed, rolled her eyes, then continued. "Found another one." She announced, and pulled it out swiftly, making him yelp once more.

"Cut that out!" He exclaimed, wincing.

"Not my fault that you drove through a cactus patch. We've got to get them out, otherwise it'll be hell to pay for it later."

He grunted, but didn't answer.

She continued pulling out cactus spines and replacing pipes that were mangled beyond repair.

He gasped, then yelped again and stiffened.

"Will you relax? They've gotta come out." She told him firmly, yanking yet another out.

He yelped again, and growled. "Well you don't have to pull so hard!" He exclaimed, and his eyes widened too late as he noticed Doc parked in the doorway, watching the two, eyelids nearly nonexistent. "Foxy?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to come out…"

She rolled out, and spotted Doc, still looking shocked. "What?"

He shook his hood, then turned away. "I'm not sayin' anything…"

"Oh come on. He's full of cactus spines. What was I supposed to do? I'm certainly not going to work around them!"

"Yeah, well you could at least not _**YANK**_ them out!" Bus complained, making Foxy roll her eyes at him.

"Like I told you earlier, you were the one who drove through the cactus patch. Now shush and let me do my work." She replied, getting back on the crawler and going underneath Bus once more.

Doc sighed, then shook his hood and looked up at Bus. "Told ya she loves to work. She could care less about any of us, 'long as there's work to be done."

Bus sighed, and submitted to the pain of having cactus spines yanked out of your undercarriage. He cringed, and she sighed.

"Would you prefer a constant, intense throbbing pain, or one that hurts for about three seconds then fades?" He didn't answer, and she nodded. "That's what I thought. I'm almost done, although these last few are in tricky spots. Well, they would be for a car or truck. I think I can get to them just fine."

Luckily, Doc had left to talk to Sheriff again a while ago, so he wasn't around to hear Bus' unmanly squeal.

"Hey, watch it!" He squeaked, his voice three octaves higher.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's really stuck. How the hell did you get it wedged _there_?"

"I don't know, just please don't!" Too late. He nearly shrieked in pain, and Foxy rolled out a few seconds later, holding a long, thin, oil-covered spine in her grasp.

"There, it's out. I also managed to get the others that were there too. You're cleared of spines."

"Thank god!" He exclaimed, making her laugh. "Hey, you try getting those things in a very sensitive area, then getting them forcibly yanked out!"

"I already have. I know it sucks, trust me. I've even had one in my tongue."

"Ugh!" Bus exclaimed, drawing back.

"Yeah, right? You wanna see where it was?"

"No! Yes…"

Foxy laughed, then stuck her tongue out. Sure enough, there was a lighter pink spot, paired with a slight indentation near the front of her tongue.

"Ouch."

"Yeah, you're telling me. I was the one stuck with it for three hours. And that was just while Doc was trying to figure out how to get it out and not have me bleed to death."

"Wow…"

"Yeah. Wow." Foxy replied, looking up at him.

"Are you finished underneath?"

"No, not yet. There's still the matter of your axle, then your exhaust pipes. They're pretty badly mangled. We'll have to order new ones." Bus sighed, and Foxy set her hand on his side gently. "Don't worry. Hey, did you want new windows? I noticed that you don't have any…"

"No."

"No?"

"They're the first things that get smashed in a fight. Then it's my windshields. Then, it's everything else."

"I still don't understand why you didn't fight back and win."

Bus was silent, his front end lowered slightly, looking down at the ground dully, deep in thought.

Foxy sighed, patted his side gently, then got back on the crawler, going underneath to finish with the bent axle. "Bear with me, all right? This may hurt… a lot…"

"All right." He replied, trying to tune her out so he could forget about the pain, like he'd done so many times before. As it was, he couldn't help wincing and biting his lip as the screech of metal sounded, along with a bolt of pain.

"All right?"

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in a sigh, then experimentally moved the axle. "Some pain, but yeah. All right."

"Hmm…" She mumbled something to herself, then rolled out to get a leveler.

Bus watched her, thinking to himself, '_She's nuts. Completely nuts._'

She rolled back under, and was silent for a while. "Yep. You're straight now."

"Huh?"

"Your axle. It's straightened."

"Oh. Thanks."

"Sure." She rolled back out, and looked him over. "Welp, I'm afraid that although your undercarriage is, for the most part all right, the rest of you isn't."

He rolled his eyes. "No duh, Sherlock."

"Get ready for lots of long days." She sighed, then put the crawler away.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Time-consuming. Making dents disappear may be my specialty, but that doesn't mean that it takes two seconds."

He chuckled, and looked down at Foxy. "How'd you learn all this stuff? Aren't you supposed to be into makeup, and paintjobs, and cute boys, and going shopping and all that crap?"

"'All that crap' is right. I can't stand that stuff. I'd much rather be working with oil, grease and dents then a pole, a tiny outfit, and millions of guys staring at me. As for how I learned it, I took a few classes in high school, at least in my world. Here, Doc taught me everything I need to know."

"Wait… you're saying that you'd rather be a nurse or a… what're they called in your world?"

"Mechanic." Foxy gave him a smile.

"Thanks. So you'd rather be a 'mechanic' then a…"

"Stripper, yes. That's what I think most girls are nowadays. Undercover strippers." She snorted in disgust, rolling her eyes.

Bus chuckled, and she looked up at him. "I'll go ask Doc if we can lower you. I'll be able to reach the dents better." With that, she strode out the double doors of the clinic, leaving a very bewildered Bus staring at the spot she had been.

He _really_ didn't know what to make of her. She was just so bizarre, and yet, she had this sort of pull that he couldn't explain. He looked out the window, watching the others laughing with her. '_She really can be friends with anyone..._' As he thought it over, he realized that it wasn't him who was pulling her in, but _she_ who was pulling _him_ in. She was slowly but surely changing him, and he didn't even have the slightest idea how it had happened.

Foxy returned shortly with Doc, and the Hornet lowered the lift until Bus was nearly on the floor. "That's it. No lower." He warned her, and she nodded.

"Thanks, Doc."

He nodded once, then rolled back out the doors.

"Now, let's begin." She grinned at him, finding that he was still significantly taller than her.

He chuckled, and Foxy got a dent puller out. She set to work, and soon had all the minor dents pulled out. The larger ones she couldn't pull out, and settled for leaving those ones to pop back out on their own. The most challenging one of all, it seemed was right at the edge of his side and his roof, a large dip in the corner. For this, she got out the blowtorch and began heating the area around the dent up. It worked, and the dent popped out with a ringing sound.

Bus jumped when he felt the flame, but quickly relaxed after eyeing her worriedly and seeing that she was doing nothing to harm him.

Finally, three hours later, all the dents were out, thanks to the blowtorch.

**I just love how I've tried to put Bus in as rough a condition as possible. XD Cactus spines to the undercarriage, dents, gouges, smashed windshields(if you remember, he's got two), a bent axle, nearly-destroyed exhaust system... the list goes on. XD It's a good thing Foxy knows what she's doing, at least. **

**Yes, that is how Foxy sees most teenagers, at least the ones who aren't in any fandoms. As undercover strippers. XD**


	4. Chapter 4

"There we go. Now, all I've got to do is get the welding machine, and see if I can get those smaller gashes."

Bus looked at her in horror, and she sighed.

"Relax, I've done this before." With that, she got out the welding machine and got to work, pushing her helmet down over her eyes. Soon, she had the two large gashes along his sides left, and decided to call it a night. "I'll be back in the morning to see how those are coming along." She replied, setting a hand on his front gently and giving him a smile before slipping outside.

He watched her go, smiling slightly, then settled lower on his axles and let his mind drift. The quiet once more got to him, and he was sleeping soundly by the time Doc rolled in.

He chuckled quietly, seeing the bus sound asleep. '_Looks like Foxy wore 'im out._' He thought, making his way to his garage for the night.

* * *

><p>When Bus awoke next, the room seemed to be empty, and only the light filtering through the open blinds let him know that Foxy was there.<p>

"Morning." Sure enough, there was her voice from behind him, sounding wide awake and happy. She came around front to greet him properly when she had finished whatever she was doing.

He looked down when she gestured in front of him, and blinked in surprise.

There was a drum of something sitting in front of him, steaming slightly. "Well go on. I thought you liked coffee."

"You brought me coffee?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"No one's ever done anything like this before." He replied, and Foxy smiled.

"You're welcome. Now drink it, before it gets cold and disgusting."

He did as he was told, and blinked in surprise. "This is good…"

"I'll let Flo know you like it." Foxy replied, already busy at work welding the gashes along his sides up. He relaxed and began sipping the rest of his coffee, Foxy's knowing smile going unseen.

Two hours later, around noon, she finished patching him up, then surveyed her work. "Welp, you're not going to win any beauty pageants for a while, but it's done."

His side shook with a snicker, making Foxy grin.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week." She replied, and he began chuckling. She grinned again, then had an idea. "So, you know those guys who always go with the airline food joke?"

He looked at her in confusion as she came around to face him.

"'Hey, what about that airline food?'" She continued in a mocking tone. "It's like seriously, that joke stopped being funny like twenty years ago! Not only that, but it's also the most overused and boring joke out there! Really, how hard is it to go get your kid's knock-knock joke book and memorize a few? _Knock-Knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Apple._" She gave him a 'See? I told you it was better!' shrug, then continued. "Still better then the airline food joke. Am I right?"

At the end of it all, Bus was laughing along with Foxy, the first time she had actually heard him laugh. "That was pretty good. Got any more?"

"Just stupid ones."

"Let's hear a couple."

"All right. Knock-Knock."

"Who's there?"

"Interrupting tractor."

"Interrupting tractor wh-" "MOO!"

Their laughter filled the room, and when it died down, Foxy had to wipe tears from her eyes. "That's one of my favorite ones." She replied with a grin.

Bus began snickering again, and Foxy smiled.

'_He has to be happy here. He's changed so much since he first came in._' She thought to herself, watching him.

She had been saving the news for the right moment, and decided that now was the time. "Guess what?"

"What?" He asked, still grinning.

"I told Doc this morning that all you needed was a new paintjob, and he said that you can come outside! Isn't that great?"

Instead of the reaction she was hoping for, he shrank away from her, his expression turning doubtful and worried. Her own excited expression faded, until she looked confused. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted to get out of here…"

"I did, but are you sure they won't try and... attack me?"

"Of course I'm sure. They haven't attacked me, and I'm not even a vehicle!"

"I dunno…"

"Come on, Flo wants to meet you." She pressed, and he fell silent, thinking.

"Flo?"

"The coffee?"

"Oh." He fell silent again, and Foxy waited. "All right. Only for a little."

"Yay! Oh, you're going to love it!" She exclaimed with a grin.

He drove off the lift slowly, unsure. He watched Foxy the entire time, afraid that she was going to hit something because of her walking backwards. He wasn't even aware that he was out of the clinic until he felt the warmth of the sun and air. He looked up at the sky, then down at Foxy.

She just gave him a grin.

He sighed, then followed after her as she headed down the road. She sat down at Fillmore's side, then looked over at Bus, who was watching her curiously. "Introductions! My favorite part!" She sighed and rolled her eyes, then stood up. "All right, here we go again. Fillmore." She set a hand on his side, and he leaned into it, making her smile. She pivoted, then gestured to Sarge. "Sarge."

Sarge gave her a scowl, but shook his hood and returned to his drink.

"Sheriff." She replied, walking over to said car and gesturing again. Sheriff chuckled, and she continued on. "You know Doc, so no need for that one… Lizzie." She giggled quietly, seeing that the Model T was asleep. "Ramone." She walked in front of the lowrider and stopped with her hands on her hips, making him grin. "Flo, the one who makes the awesome coffee."

Flo smiled and gave Foxy a nudge. "Thanks, hon."

Foxy nodded, and moved onwards. "Red."

Red smiled down at her, then raised a wheel.

Foxy returned the high wheel with a grin, then pivoted and went to Luigi and Guido, who both grinned.

"Light, my annoying adopted brother." He nudged her, and she playfully smacked him on the hood. He grinned, and she returned it. "Sally." The Porsche gave her a smile, which she returned. "In between the two is my best buddy Thunder. Say 'Hi', Thunder!"

Thunder made a noise that sounded like 'Hello', and Foxy laughed. "Good boy." She moved on, trying to get this done as smoothly as possible. "Next, there's Mariana, then Jack, then Mater." She gestured to the three in turn, and each hugged her. "Next up is… Paul, Harry, then Sara, in that order. Then their dad, Brian."

He nudged her gently, and she gave him a smile.

"Wingo, Boost, and DJ." She stopped in front of DJ, giving him a crafty grin. He waved a tire at her, trying to trip her, and she laughed before slapping him a low tire. "Next is Mack." She looked up at the large truck, and he gave her a smile. "Last but not least… uhhh, where's Nikki?"

"Foxy!"

"There he is!"

A small blue object whizzed past Bus, startling him, and he watched as it leaped into Foxy's arms. "This bundle of raw energy is Nikki, my adopted kid." Foxy stood before Bus, grinning and holding a giggling Nikki in her grasp. "What do you think?"

"Impressive." He replied finally, and Foxy's grin grew wider.

"I'm glad you like it. Everyone, this is Bus." The others called out greetings or waved tires, and Bus felt his nervousness begin to fade. He rolled into Flo's, finally settling into the spot closest to the indoor part of the cafe on the side nearest Doc's.

Foxy sat down beside him, and nudged him gently. "Watch this. He's gonna go nuts." She whispered with a grin, gesturing to Nikki, who was squirming in her grasp.

Bus chuckled, and watched as she let him go.

He shot out of her lap like a bullet, and whizzed past Red, who didn't even flinch. "Wait for it…" Foxy held up a finger, and Bus watched curiously. Nikki suddenly came back, going full speed ahead. He braked hard, and slid to a stop inches from running Foxy over.

"How was that?"

"Pretty good! You've gotta work on it a little though, there was a bit of a fishtail on that one."

Nikki looked up at Bus, and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi." Bus replied, unsure of what to do.

"Is your name really Bus?"

"Yes…"

"That's cool! Can I change my name to Truck, mom?"

"No!" Foxy replied, making Nikki giggle.

"Pleeease?"

"Nicholas, you're not changing your name to Truck."

"Why? I like it…"

"I said so, that's why. Now go play with Sara." She sent him speeding away when she tickled him, and she looked up at Bus.

"Where'd you find him at?"

"Attacked by a mountain lion, parents already dead." She muttered, trying not to let Nikki overhear.

"Poor kid…"

"He likes me better. His parents were abusive."

"That really sucks…"

"Yep. At least he's happy here though."

Bus tilted his front curiously, watching Nikki and the other five children goof off.

"Something wrong?" Foxy asked quietly, watching him worriedly.

He shook his front 'no' slightly, too engrossed in watching the children play. "I've never seen a truck, a group of hot rods, and two microcars play together before…" He replied quietly, looking genuinely curious.

"Do you want to see them play with me?" Foxy asked with a smile.

He looked down at her in surprise, but she was already heading over to the group. "Hey, anyone wanna play?"

"**_FOXY!_**" Harry exclaimed, pouncing her and sending her to her rear end in the street, making the others laugh.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, laughing and hugging him tightly before letting him go.

"What should we play?"

"How about we bring Bus along to the Butte and play tag? Just us seven though."

"Yay!"

"You coming, Bus?" She turned to look at him, giving him a hopeful smile.

He dipped his front in an eager nod, and pulled out of Flo's, following the group. "All right, you stay here. You'll be able to keep an eye on us without getting run over by one of the munchkins." She gave him a smile, which he returned before she headed down towards the cluster of children. "All right! Ready, set, _I'mitsorun_!" She shrieked, and the group scattered instantly. Foxy laughed and chased after them, leaving Bus blinking in surprise at her speed.

She weaved around bushes or hopped over them, trying to catch Nikki. He turned sharply, and Foxy followed, her feet sliding like tires through the dirt. She had gone down to her hands and feet, and used the ground like a spring board to leap for Nikki. She caught him, and the two went into a barrel roll, kicking up even more dirt. When the dust had cleared, Nikki was draped across Foxy, who was lying on her back, laughing. "You're it, Nikki." She replied, then pushed him off.

He tagged her, then grinned. "Now you're it!"

"Hey, no fair…"

Nikki just giggled and darted off.

Foxy sighed then chased after him, gently pinning him to the ground.

"Hey, lemme up, lemme up!" He complained, squirming furiously.

Foxy laughed, then poked him in the side. "You're it again, Nikki." With that, she threw herself off him, and hid behind a nearby bush. He giggled, then went after Harry.

Bus found himself chuckling as he watched the game, seeing that Foxy was not only good at fixing things, but good with children as well. '_Is there anything she isn't amazing at?_' He thought to himself, and heard a squeal. He looked to see Foxy running as fast as she could away from something. He watched as she came up to him and hid behind him, shaking. "What's the matter?"

"There's a giant spider down there!" She exclaimed, peeking around him, her eyes full of fear.

He chuckled, then asked, "That's all?"

"'That's all?'! Spiders and insects are evil beings sent here from the devil himself! They're here to make my life a living curse!" She exclaimed, and Bus chuckled again.

"The spider's gone, Foxy." Nikki called, and she headed back down.

* * *

><p>The game continued until the sun set, and then the group began heading towards Bus. He took this as the signal to get ready to leave, and followed after them, listening to the children giggle. His thoughts wandered, and he found himself imagining how happy he would be here. Unseen to the others, a faint smile lodged itself to his features, and he only snapped out of his thoughts when they neared the town.<p>

At this time, he noticed that Foxy was carrying one of the orange Barracudas, along with Nikki. '_She's strong for a human..._'

She dropped Nikki off over at Fillmore's, dropped the three little Barracudas off in a brick store that looked like it had been made into a home, then she turned to him, smiling. "Do I need to put you to bed, too?"

He drew back in shock and surprise, and she giggled quietly. "You should've seen the look on your face!" She told him, still giggling.

"Yeah, yeah. You got me." He replied with slight irritation, turning around to head back to Doc's.

Foxy joined him at his side, and nudged him. "Hey, I'm only kidding. Unless you want me to?"

"No, it's fine. Unless you want to…?"

Foxy smiled again. "Not if you don't want me to. Although I'm bringing you over a blanket. Doc keeps it freezing in the clinic at night, why I'll never know."

Bus dipped his front in a nod, then looked over at her. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She gave him another smile, but he stopped.

"No, for everything. I used to believe that everyone on this planet was a miserable chunk of metal, including myself. You've erased that thought completely. Even when the world around you is full of emotionless cars, you and this town both seem to be full of emotion. How do you do it, knowing that some cars out there just simply don't care about you, or even know you exist?" He demanded, looking down at her pleadingly.

"It's easy. I know what it's like to be downright hated, ignored, made fun of. I don't want anyone else to feel like that, so I don't treat them like that. I treat them as an equal, as a friend. And if they don't know me, not a problem. There's a reason why they don't know me. They haven't come here. Yet." She gave him a grin.

"I'm not sure I understand…"

"I'll put it this way. I used to get picked on, ignored, teased, whatever you want to call it, and I used to be like you were before. Didn't care what anyone else thought because they didn't care about me. In fact, the only ones there for me were animals and children. Both seemed to flock to me, and I lived off that. Besides them, my only other friend was my dad. After he died, I felt like I was left without a friend in the world."

At this point, Foxy lifted a hand to Ramone, who was just closing up shop. He nodded to her with a smile, and she returned it before turning back to Bus.

"After that happened, I had to go through hell and back. I came really close to just ending it all a couple of times, but then I thought of him. He would be pissed that I had even thought about trying it, so I never succeeded. I always stopped before it was too late, and each time I failed, I would go to school the next day as though nothing was wrong. After a couple of weeks, I came upon a group of people who were separate from the rest of the students. They soon became my friends, and I never wanted to let that go. I never wanted to go back to how I was before them, so I stayed there. I gave them a chance. And they gave me one. That taught me that nobody should be left out, nobody should be treated as an underling, as a pile of trash, since everyone is worth something to the right person. I wanted to give that feeling to everyone else I met from then on, that feeling of being accepted, of being liked."

She looked up as they reached Doc's, ending her tale. "Do you understand now?"

Bus nodded, and Foxy smiled. "That's good. Wait here, I'll get you the blanket." She replied, and headed off towards Fillmore's. She came back a few minutes later, carrying a thick, folded-up blanket. "Here." She passed it to him, and he gave her a faint smile.

"Thanks."

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You will?"

"I don't know, will you be here tomorrow?" She asked, and he nodded.

"As long as you want me here, sure."

"Then yes, I will see you tomorrow. Besides, we still need to replace those exhaust pipes. They should be getting here soon."

He nodded, then nudged her gently, unsure how she would take it. To his surprise, she leaned against his front gently, giving him a smile.

"'Night, Bus."

"'Night, Foxy." He replied, then watched as she headed towards Fillmore's before going inside Doc's clinic and getting back on the lift. He tossed the blanket over himself, smiled, then settled down to sleep fairly quickly.

**Aww, the ending is so sweet. ^^**

**You guys know the drill, read if you would? Review, if you care, and don't steal, if you please? Bus is entirely my character, and I wouldn't mind if he popped up in other stories, just ask me first. :) **

**Peace out since my computer's keyboard's batteries are going to die soon, Liz**


	5. Chapter 5

Foxy did the same, snuggling against Fillmore's side. "I'm sorry for not hanging around today. I just wanted to get him to warm up to us, that way he'd want to stay."

He nudged her with his front, smiling slightly. "It's all right. I understand."

With that, Foxy pulled the sleeping Nikki closer to her and Fillmore, then both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Foxy woke up shortly after Fillmore. He kissed her before she was fully awake, taking her by surprise. "Mornin'." He greeted her when they had broke apart.<p>

"Morning, Fillmore." She greeted in return, still looking a little surprised and dazed.

Fillmore chuckled and nudged her up impatiently.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up."

"No ya ain't." He replied, and continued nudging her across the floor, grinning slightly.

"Fillmore, come on, I'm not even half awake yet…" She complained as she was getting tossed around.

"Then I gotta keep doin' it." He replied, trying not to laugh as he continued.

"Okay doggy!" She exclaimed, coming to a halt in a sitting position, looking completely frazzled.

Fillmore laughed, then nudged her even more.

"What are you so excited about, Fillmore?" By this time, she was floundering around, trying to get her footing in between him pushing her. He had nudged her onto the road, and gave her a large push, sending her flying into Flo's.

Foxy crawled out from underneath Sheriff, who had raised up quickly when he had seen her coming. "Morning, everyone. Apparently I was due to be pushed into Flo's this morning." She looked over at Fillmore, who was smiling innocently.

"Happy Birthday, Foxy." Sheriff said with a chuckle, nudging her.

"It's… Ohhh….. Thanks.. Sheriff…" She replied, still not entirely sure if the others were tricking her.

Sheriff chuckled and nudged her again. "Ya didn't forget yer own birthday, did ya?"

"No! Maybe… Yes." The others laughed, and she pouted. "Yeah, yeah, make fun of the one who's still half asleep."

"Then ya might wanna drink this." Sheriff chuckled, pushing a cup towards her.

"Coffee!" She exclaimed happily, and took a sip. "Thanks, Sheriff, it's just what I wanted!"

The others laughed at her joke, and he rolled his eyes.

"It's your birthday?" Bus asked, rolling over.

"Apparently. I lost track of the days."

"Happy Birthday, Foxy." He replied, awkwardly nudging her again.

She giggled, then brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Thanks, Bus." She gave him a smile, then took another sip of her coffee.

"Those exhaust pipes came today, Foxy." Doc told her, and she grinned.

"They did? Wicked!"

"Only you would want to work on yer birthday." Sheriff replied, shaking his hood in bewilderment.

"Hey, it's fun!"

"Behold, one of the few shining moments where Foxy proves that she's not of this world! Or any world known to humans and cars, at least…"

"Hey!" She protested, making the others laugh again.

"He's got a point, Foxy…"

"Hmmph… go ahead and say what you will, I'm enjoying myself today, and the best way to do that is for me to keep working."

"You sure you're not an alien that used to live with humans?" Doc asked, looking at her in slight confusion.

"Okay, okay. Since you all think I'm an alien, someone come over here and try to pull the mask off."

"I'll do it!" Lightning exclaimed, waving a tire frantically. He rolled over without hesitation, then pinned her down with a tire. He began pulling at her face, making her yelp.

"I never meant literally, Lightning McQueen!" She exclaimed, shoving his tire off her waist and smacking his hood with a hand.

"Hey! You said that we could, and I volunteered!"

"It's called sarcasm, numbnuts!"

Lightning laughed, then pointed at her with a tire. "The alien just learned a new word!" The others laughed, and Foxy flopped back against the pavement, covering her eyes with a hand.

"Why me? WHY me?" Was heard, and the others snickered.

"'Cause. You're really easy to screw with." Lightning replied, and she sat up to glare at him. "That came out wrong…" He muttered, his grin fading as he mulled it over.

"Ohhh, I'm gonna kill you!" She exclaimed, scrambling to her feet and chasing after him.

"Now that he's distractin' her, we can set up fer the party."

"We'll need to get someone else to have her chase, since the two are nearly siblings…" Doc and Sheriff looked to Bus, who looked confused and frightened.

"What?"

The two rolled closer to him, telling him the plan. When it was finished, he nodded. "Got it."

Foxy came streaking back into town, Lightning now chasing her. "Bus!" She shrieked, hiding behind him again.

"And that'll teach you to mess with a racer!" Lightning replied with a snort.

"Let's go into Doc's. He isn't allowed in there without Doc since the incident with a wrench getting stuck somewhere it was never meant to be."

Bus' eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He shook his front to try and get rid of the thoughts, then followed Foxy into the clinic. There, she began working on swapping out his exhaust pipes for the new ones.

* * *

><p>The entire day was spent with Bus complaining, knowing that Foxy would stop working and begin yelling at him. This had been Doc and Sheriff's plan, and he hoped that it was working.<p>

Finally, they finished up, and with one last yelp, she clapped him on the side. "That's it. It's in, welded, and secure." She lowered the lift, and he darted to the doors. "Bus? What's up?"

He had seen that they weren't ready yet with her party, so he needed to stall her. "I've been considering a new name, since I've got a new life and all."

"Oh, cool. What did you want to pick?"

Perfect. He had her. "I'm not sure. What do you think?"

"You're giving me the honor of renaming you?"

He nodded, and looked to her eagerly, a hint of a smile on his bumper.

"All right, then let's see… Do you like Joe?" Bus shook his front, and Foxy resumed thinking. "Hmm… How about Pete?"

"Maybe… Got anything else?"

"Bill?"

"I sound like I'm bald!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! How about…Scott?"

"I like it."

"Okay, Scotty Dog!"

"WHAT?!"

"That's my new personal nickname for you! Scotty Dog!"

"Great…" He stole a glance out the window, and noticed that they were all set up. He pulled aside, and drove out the doors. "Aren't you coming?"

She nodded, then followed after him. Suddenly, all around them lights came on, one-by-one and in clusters. "What's this, Scott?" She asked, looking to him.

"Who's Scott? And this is your birthday party that I was supposed to stall you for, that way we could get things set up in time." Bus replied, a sly smile going across his bumper.

"You double-crossed me!"

"Alas, not I fair maiden, but thee companions ye hath acquired hath done thy double-crossing."

"Smartass." She muttered, and he laughed.

"Don't you know it." He replied, then nudged her, slightly less awkwardly this time. "Come on, let's go see what they did to torture you."

She sighed, then followed after him.

"It worked!" He exclaimed as he rolled into Flo's, making the others laugh.

"Happy Birthday, Foxy!" They chorused, Lightning and Mater lighting firecrackers and sending them whizzing towards her. She dropped to the ground with a scream, watching as they vaporized upon impact. There were more fireworks coming from behind Flo's, mainly reds and yellows, with the occasional green thrown in for her eye color.

"What're we waiting for? Let's _BOOOGIE_!" DJ exclaimed, cranking up the volume to her favorite pop song.

"No, no, I couldn't… Aw, screw it! _**YEEEEHAW**_!" She exclaimed, tossing off her sweatshirt to reveal a neon-colored shirt. She did the same with her jeans, revealing multicolored neon leggings. The others laughed, and she began shuffling, DJ joining her at her side as she shuffled to the song.

"_Party like a rock, party like a rockstar! Party like a rock, party like a rockstar! Party like a rockstar! T-T-T-Totally dude!_" The song poured out of DJ's subwoofers, the other tuners nodding their hoods to the beat as they watched Foxy and DJ goof off.

* * *

><p>They celebrated for the rest of the night, although the party began to wind down when the moon began to rise. "Now, you gotta come party with us. We'll show you a real party." DJ nudged her, and she nodded.<p>

"Is that okay with you guys?"

The others nodded, and she smiled.

"I'll be back! I hope!" The cars laughed, and soon she was gone, riding on DJ's roof.

They went out to a club, and when they came back, she discovered that the others were waiting for her. "Why…?"

"This!" Lightning exclaimed, and released the children from a cardboard box. They all charged for her, shouting her name.

She booked it out of the cafe as fast as she could, but the combined group of children was too much for her, and they quickly had her on the ground as they clambered all over her, giggling and squealing. "Get off!" She laughed, squirming around to see if it would work. No such luck, and she sighed. "Get off?" She asked, and none of them moved. The others snickered, knowing what the command was to let her up. The children knew it too, they were sure of that. "Don't get up?" She tried, and just like that, the children scrambled off in different directions, each bringing a present from one of the others. "Aww, that was cute! Did you guys all plan this?"

The adults nodded, and Foxy giggled. "Well thanks. It was really sweet of all of you."

"Aww, shucks, Foxy. T'weren't nothin'." Mater spoke up, and the others laughed, realizing that Mater had taken the words from their minds and phrased them in that goofy way of his.

After the gifts had been opened, and thanks had been passed around, a vote decided that they play party games, adults only of course.

* * *

><p>The children had been sent to bed half an hour earlier, and now a round of Truth-or-Dare was circling Flo's.<p>

"Foxy first."

"All right… hmm…. Lightning! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth!"

"Okay… Have you ever farted on anyone?" A chorus of laughter went through the townsfolk, and Lightning grinned.

"Yep."

"Now, who was it?"

"ME!" Sally exclaimed, giving Lightning a shove in the door while the others were laughing hysterically. Lightning was chuckling, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"All right, my turn. Sally. Truth or Dare."

"Dare." She replied, feeling bold.

"Your dare is to… _KISS ME, MY LOVE_!" Lightning exclaimed dramatically, making the others laugh.

"That's all?" She drove forwards and connected her lips with his, causing a few wolf whistles to shoot through the cluster. "Happy?"

"Delighted." He replied, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

Sally laughed, then reversed to look around at the others. "Hmm… Foxy. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare."

"You can smell now, right?"

"Sure."

"Then your dare is to stick your nose up Thunder's rump and smell it."

"That's awful!" Lightning exclaimed, making Foxy laugh.

"All right. Thunder, c'mere boy!" He padded over to Foxy, and she positioned him in front of her, lifted his tail, and sniffed it. The others watched in surprise as she popped back up, then sent Thunder on his way. "No biggie. I've smelled much worse." The others laughed, and it was her turn. "All right, I'll choose…. SHERIFF!"

"Wha?!" He exclaimed with a jump, making her laugh.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"All right, ever… licked anyone?"

He scoffed, pulling back in surprise.

"_That's not an answer!_" Foxy replied in a singsong tone, grinning wickedly.

He rolled his eyes, then sighed. "No, I ain't ever done that."

"That's better. Your turn, Sheriff."

He looked around, his eyes scanning for the next victim. "All right. Mr. The King. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." Strip replied blandly, looking completely at ease.

"Ever been caught by the law?"

"**_SHERIFF!_**" The group chorused, and said squad car just chuckled.

Strip broke out into laughter, but shook his hood 'no'. "No, I've never been arrested. Now, I believe it's my turn, so I'll choose Foxy."

"Truth."

"Ever tried oil?"

"Actually, yes. Not one of my favorite things in the world, but Doc forbade me from trying it ever again."

"Darn right I did!"

The others laughed, and Foxy grinned sheepishly.

"My turn… so, I'll choose Lightning again."

Lightning grinned wickedly, as did Foxy.

"Dare."

"Feeling adventurous, are we? Oh, I've got the perfect Dare for that…" With that, she unleashed an evil laugh, then quieted down. "I dare you to describe your most recent date with Sally in detail." To her surprise, he grinned.

"Okay. We went up to Wheel Well to look at the stars, then we chased each other back down here and went to the Butte for a nighttime race."

"Aww, nothing completely embarrassing…" She pouted, and he grinned.

"Not for me, but for you, yes there is! Foxy, truth or dare?"

"Dare…"

"YES! She took the bait!" He exclaimed. "All right, I dare you to…. _kiss Red._"

Everyone's front bumpers dropped, and Foxy's bottom jaw nearly touched the ground. Red was the only one who didn't look surprised, only a darkening of his paint proving that he was blushing something fierce.

"All right, I'll do it." She went over to Red, gave him a smile, then a small kiss on his front. He was blushing so badly he nearly looked purple, and Foxy gave him a smile. "That wasn't so bad, was it Red?"

He slowly shook his front, then booked it for the firehouse amid the laughter of the others.

"Now look what you did, Lightning."

"I'll go talk to him later, but it's your turn again."

"Fine, I choose…. Sarge! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"All right, ever been in a relationship during the war?"

"Not once. A soldier's duty is to the country, not to a woman."

"Why am I not surprised?" Foxy replied with a small laugh.

Sarge just rolled his eyes. He chose Fillmore, no surprise. Fillmore chose truth, and Sarge chuckled darkly. "Ever planning on turning that horrendous music off for one morning?"

"Nope."

The others chuckled, then it was Fillmore's turn. He chose Foxy, and she picked truth. "What does the fox say?" Was her truth.

"The fox says, 'Anyone starts using that on me starts getting a foot wedged up their tailpipe as far as possible.'"

The others laughed at her answer, and Lightning seemed to be thinking about something. Foxy was certain what it was, and gave him a warning glare. "All right, my turn. Bus! Truth or Dare?"

He blinked in surprise, then decided to choose Dare.

"All right, your dare is… to beat me in a coffee-drinking contest!"

"Bring it on."

"One container is one container. It don't matter how much is in a container." Sheriff explained the rules, Foxy and Bus eying each other playfully. "All right! On your marks… get set… _GO!_" The others chorused, and Foxy began draining coffee cups as fast as the others had ever seen her.

Bus was matching her speed, which wasn't easy to do, especially if you were nearly three times taller than your opponent. Finally, Sheriff stopped them after about ten minutes.

There was a pile of styrofoam cups in front of Foxy, and large drums surrounding Bus. Lightning counted both of them up, and said that it was a tie.

"What? Really?"

He counted again, then nodded. "You both managed to drain nine containers."

"That's gotta be my new record for most coffee drunk." Foxy replied with a grin.

"You're crazy, Foxy." Bus replied with a grin and chuckle.

She gave him a high-tire, then took her place again after paying Flo for the coffees. "Your turn, Bus."

"Hmm… I guess I'll ask you, Foxy. Truth or Dare?"

"Me? Geez, I'm popular tonight." She grinned, then replied, "Dare."

"All right. I dare you to… Juggle three tires while singing a theme of your choice."

"Ohhh, good one! Guido?"

"Okay!" The little forklift replied, and appeared at her side with three used tires. She began juggling them, and started singing the Big Bang Theory theme song.

"_Our whole universe was in a hot dense state, nearly fourteen million years ago, expansion started. WAIT! The Earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool, neanderthals built tools, we built the wall, we built the pyramids! Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery, it all started with the Big Bang. BANG!_"

As she finished up with the shout, she let the tires drop, making the others laugh.

"That was pretty good!" Bus replied, chuckling.

"Thanks, I try." Foxy replied, and the game continued.

* * *

><p>After that, they moved onto an extremely awkward game of spin the bottle. Although what they were really spinning was Foxy. And she had been the 'designated kisser'.<p>

That game ended pretty soon, and Bus, Foxy, Lightning and Ramone went up to Wheel Well.

**Hi, everyone. It appears that Foxy's having a good time in this chapter, eh? As is the norm, I don't own 'Party Like a Rockstar' (Shop Boyz) or the Big Bang Theory theme song (Barenaked Ladies). **

**I tried to think up the stupidest dares, didn't work. Although one of my friends DID pull the 'smell the dog's rear end' dare at a sleepover once... Along with sticking a hand in a toilet (I got both of those... of course). The dog one was okay because I can't smell, but at least the toilet water was clean. -.-**

**Today's work wasn't the best, but what're you gonna do? Not like I can quit without ever being 'officially' on the job. *sigh***


	6. Chapter 6

Bus watched in amazement as Foxy began belting out James Brown's 'I Feel Good'. "Does she always do this when she's drunk?"

"You haven't see the worst of it yet. She's just warming up."

Bus' eyes widened, and Lightning nodded, only on his first drink.

"Yep, she goes nuts."

Now her and a slightly-drunken Ramone were doing a duet of Manfred Mann's 'Doo Wah Diddy', much to the amusement of the other two. Bus was parked at the bar, watching Foxy's drunken antics and laughing.

The two had apparently moved onto their own songs, Foxy's being 'Shout!' by the Isley Brothers. The others laughed and began singing with her. **(A/N: Bold is Foxy, **_just Italics is the others._**)**

"_**You know you make me wanna shout! Kick my heels up and shout! Throw my hands up and shout! Throw my head back and shout! Come on now, don't forget to say you will, don't forget to sayyy yehyehyehyeh**__!_"

"_Sayy you will!_"

"_**Say it right now, baby!**_"

"_Sayy you will!_"

"_**C'mon, C'mon!**_"

"_Sayy you will!_"

"**_Say it will youuuuuuuu! C'mon now!_**"

"_Say!_"

"**_Say that you love me!_**"

"_Say!_"

"_**Say that you need me!**_"

"_Say!_"

"_**Say that you want me!**_"

"_Say!_"

"_**You want to please me!**_"

"_Say!_"

"**_C'mon, now!_**"

"_Say!_"

"_**C'mon, now!**_"

"_Say!_"

"_**C'mon, now!**_"

"_Say!_"

"_**I still remember!**_"

"_Shooby doo wop, doo wop wop wop!_"

"**_When you used to be nine years old!_**"

"_Shooby doo wop, doo wop!_"

"_**I was a fool for you from the bottom of my souuul, yeah! Now that you've grown up, old enough to know, yeah, yeah! You wanna leave me, you wanna let me go! I want you to know, I said I want you to know right now! You been good to me, baby, better then i been to myself, hey, hey! And if you ever leave me, I don't want nobody else, hey hey! I said I want you to knoowww, hey! I said I want you to know right now, hey hey! You make me wanna shout!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Hey, yeah!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Yehyehyehyeh!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Allll right! Allll right!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"**_C'mon, now! C'mon, now!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Yehyehyeh!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Yehyehyeh!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Yehyehyeh!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Alll right!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Alll right!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Alll right!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Alll right!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Now waiiit a minute!**_" Foxy paused, along with the others, a drunken grin appearing on her face. "_**I feel allllllll right…**_"

"_Yehyehyehyehyeh!_"

"_**Now that I got my woman, I feel alllllll right…**_"

"_Yehyehyehyeh!_"

"**_Everytime I think about you, you've been so good to me. You know you make me wanna shout! Lift my heels up and shout! Throw my head back and shout! Kick my heels up and shout! C'mon, take it easy! Take it easy. Take it easy! A little bit softer now!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"**_A little bit softer now._**"

"_Shout!_"

"_**A little bit softer now.**_"

"_Shout._"

"**_A little bit softer now…_**"

"_Shout…_" The group had begin inching their way closer to the floor as they grew softer and softer.

Once they reached a certain point, they began to slowly get louder, rising up at the same interval from the floor.

"_**A little bit louder now.**_"

"_Shout._"

"**_A little bit louder now._**"

"_Shout._"

"_**A little bit louder now!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"**_A little bit louder now!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"**_Heeeyey!_**"

"_Heeeyeyey!_"

"_**Heeeeyeyey!**_"

"_Heeeyeyey!_"

"**_Heeeeyeyeyey!_**"

"_Heeeeyeyeyey!_"

"**_Shout now! Jump up and shout now! Jump up and shout now! Jump up and shout now! Jump up and shout now! Jump up and shout now! Everybody shout now! Everybody shout now! Everybody shout! Shout!_**"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_**Everybody shout now! Jump up and shout now!**_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

"_Shout!_"

As the others were singing the chorus, Foxy slid to the middle of the group on her knees, then exclaimed, "**_Shout!_**"

With that, the group finished with a shout of "**SHOUT!**" and laughter.

"You're right! She is crazy!" Bus laughed, watching Foxy try to cartwheels across the floor while drunk.

"Normally, she'll hit her limit, and just kind of crash on the floor. After that, she's done for the night, so enjoy it while it lasts." Lightning replied with a drunken chuckle, watching Foxy now attempt to sing 'Billie Jean' while doing somersaults, which in her drunken state seemed like an impressive feat.

"Does she always like to sing while she's drunk?"

Lightning nodded, and Bus chuckled. "Remind me never to go drinking with her ever again."

Lightning laughed, then held his glass up in a toast. "You said it! At times, she seems like a drunken jukebox that has a mind of its own."

Bus laughed, then nodded. "I can see the resemblance."

* * *

><p>Finally, at about three in the morning, Foxy hit her high point, and began coming down from the clouds quickly. She sat slumped against the bar, still drinking her most recent glass, now half empty.<p>

"After this one, you're cut off, Foxy. I think you've had more than any of us…"

Foxy just mumbled something, and almost seemed to doze off.

"See? Told you. It's always easy to tell, since she's such a lightweight."

Bus chuckled, then hoisted her up onto his roof, a hand flopping down in front of his windshield limply. Lightning asked where he was taking her, and he replied, "Back to town. That way she doesn't get run over by mistake." Lightning tried to assure him that she'd be fine, but Bus insisted. He took her down, then decided to crash for the night at well. He took her back to Doc's, and settled down into a corner of the clinic, bringing Foxy down and propping her up against the wall beside him. He tossed the blanket over both of them, and settled down to try and get some sleep. He was surprised when he felt Foxy move over and prop herself against his front. He opened an eye to look down at her, then looked around. When he saw no one, he smiled, and got more comfortable before giving her a gentle nudge and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, a large ray of sunlight managed to hit both Foxy and Bus directly in the eyes and roused them both, mumbling and moaning. "Ohh, damn… my head… What the hell happened last night?" She moaned, trying to get rid of her pounding headache while at the same time trying to talk to Bus.<p>

"You were pretty much wasted, all the way through. Even if it was your birthday yesterday, you shouldn't have done it." He replied, not feeling the effects as much because he had drunk less than she.

She staggered her way outside, where the light was more intense.

Bus shrugged off the blanket, folded it, then followed after her.

"Ohhh, crap…. does anyone know what happened last night?"

There was laughter as she nearly collapsed on the pavement next to Strip.

"Ah, memory impairment. The prize at the bottom of every beer tap."

"Ya didn't!" Strip exclaimed, looking over at her in shock, his front bumper hanging.

"Just about. You should've seen her last night. She went absolutely wild."

"Foxy, you're not supposed to drown yourself, even if it is your birthday." Flo told her sternly.

She just grumbled and curled up into a ball, trying to block out the light. She tossed her hood up over her head and sighed, finally getting relief.

"Think she learned her lesson?"

"Nope."

"'Course not."

"She never does."

Bus chuckled, and watched as Foxy picked her head up to glare at Strip from underneath her hood, her eyes glittering like a cat's.

"It's your own fault, Foxy. Don't blame one of us."

She scoffed, then lay her head back down again.

The others chuckled once more, and continued their conversations. Flo delivered Foxy's morning coffee, and chuckled when she noticed that Foxy had fallen asleep again. She set Foxy's coffee at her side, gave her hood a gentle pat then continued serving the others.

About half an hour later, a large yawn sounded from underneath her hood, making the others chuckle. "Yeah, yeah." She mumbled, yawning again, her canines showing. She spotted her coffee, and smiled. "Thanks, Flo." Flo gave her a smile and a nod, and she settled against Strip's side, yawning once more.

"Sheesh, ya'd think she never sleeps." He chuckled, and Foxy grinned.

She yawned again, then finally took a sip of her coffee. "Well, now that that's over. What are we gonna do today?"

"The others left for the race already, and it looks like you're stuck here 'till they get back." Strip replied, and Foxy sighed.

"That's all right. They're racing up in the Poconos. It's wayyy too cold up there at this time for me. I should know, I used to live near there before I came here."

The others chuckled, and Foxy's grin lingered. She contentedly sipped her coffee, leaning against Strip's side. She enjoyed the numerous times they took her to races, but she loved the times they either forgot or didn't even more. There was always the relaxing, with no Lightning here to taunt her, and the feeling that it would be a slow few days until they got back. Then again, there was a limited number of conversations to go around, and the clinic wasn't open, so she couldn't work on anyone to keep herself busy. It also seemed sort of… lonesome, without Fillmore, or Sheriff, or Lightning around. She sighed softly as these thoughts crossed her mind.

Strip nudged her with a tire, sensing her slight decrease in mood.

She blinked, coming back to the others. "Hm?"

"Ya all right?"

"Yeah, just thinking about how quiet it is without Lightning here." She smiled, and the others chuckled. As the others returned to their drinks, she stood up and headed towards the Butte. She sat on the bottommost hill, gazing out across the track idly. She heard an engine approaching, and didn't move to greet them, knowing that they either would see her and park beside her, or not see her and decide that she went somewhere else. She heard them stop, the dirt crunching and popping slightly.

A few minutes later, she heard them drive forwards, then head back towards town. She sat there with her arms encircling her knees, looking like a lost child, all alone.

As she gazed out at the track, she could almost see Lightning and Doc racing around the track, laughing and playfully trying to outdo each other. A faint smile settled on her face as she watched her imagination come to life on the track. Her head followed the two as they sped around the track, both seeming to be slightly transparent. She could almost hear both of their engines roaring and revving wildly above their excited whooping.

Just as the two neared the starting rope, the scene vanished before her eyes, and she was left staring at an empty track, the breeze making the bushes quake, instead of two cars roaring by. She sighed and looked down at the dirt, idly drawing lines and swirls in it.

* * *

><p>She uttered a scream and jumped three feet into the air when someone nudged her from behind, shaking from fear and surprise.<p>

Parked behind her was Strip, looking like he had just seen a ghost. When he was sure that she had seen him, he tried not to laugh, but failed miserably.

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed, sitting back down after flapping her arms for emphasis. She covered her face with her hands, then ran her fingers back through her bangs.

Strip chuckled and nudged her again. "Sorry 'bout that."

"You're lucky I didn't punch you!" She exclaimed, and he laughed.

"I think you're the one that's lucky. That sounds like it woulda hurt you more then me."

"It's an instinct. It wouldn't hurt until I realized who it was." She replied, starting to smile.

He nudged her once more, then settled at her side.

"What's up?" She asked, turning to face him.

"Ya just looked lonely sittin' here all by yourself, figured I'd come keep ya company."

"Thanks, but I'm all right. Just imagining what Lightning and Doc would be doing if they were here at the moment." She replied, giving him a small smile before turning her attention to the dirt and beginning to doodle again.

Strip sat in silence for a while, watching her, smiling slightly. "That's pretty good, Foxy."

"Huh?"

"The drawing." He replied, gesturing to it with a tire.

"Oh. It's just a doodle." She replied, blushing slightly.

In the dirt was a doodle of the Warner Brothers Roadrunner, the same one that was on any stock Superbird. She had even added the trademark 'Meep meep!' in a speech bubble for added humor.

Strip chuckled, and watched as she began drawing even more, a few feet away from the Roadrunner. When she had finished, there was Wile E. Coyote, appearing to chase after the Roadrunner, and she even went so far as to add the lines that showed speed. Strip chuckled, seeing that she had created a scene from the old cartoon. "They really are runnin' across the desert now." He replied, rolling over to her, careful to avoid the two characters.

Foxy was now blushing furiously as she stared pointedly at the ground, the only sound her squeak of thanks.

Strip chuckled and nudged her gently. "Let's see ya do some more, Foxy."

She nodded, then stood up and walked around, trying to find the perfect spot. She apparently found one, because she nearly flung herself down, and began running her index finger through the dirt. From time to time she would look up at him, and he could only wonder why.

He didn't move, in case she would need more room.

When she had finished, she looked up at him, deep in thought she shook her head, gazed at him for a moment longer, then smiled slightly and continued drawing. When she had finished, she backed off, biting her lip nervously. "How's this?" She asked timidly, and he rolled around it to see it properly. What he saw amazed him.

It was _him_ that she had drawn, even adding the proper shading and dimension, with lines behind him to look like rays of light. It was like staring into a dirt mirror, and he smiled. "That's amazin' Foxy. You're really good." He gave her a smile, and she scuffed a foot through the dirt bashfully.

"I'm not sure I'd call it 'amazing'..." She replied, and he chuckled.

"I would."

"Aww, gee…" She replied, a small smile forming on her lips.

"Let's see ya do another one." He urged, and she nodded, then tilted her head, deep in thought. She seemed to think for a while before finally beginning to draw. As he watched, he began to see that she was drawing block letters, then making them 3-D. He tilted his hood slightly, watching her with interest.

She moved backwards, then to the right, almost as though in a video game. She moved to a spot above the lettering, then began drawing an image. When she was finished, she smiled, looked up at the track, then back down at what she had drawn.

Strip rolled around the objects, coming to a stop at her side. "'Willy's Butte, The Racetrack of Legends'." He read the curved words, then looked at the image. It was of the track, rock formation, and wall. He even thought he could see two shapes flying around the track. "That's incredible, Foxy. I never knew ya could do stuff like this."

"I never thought that it was any good, so I quit doing it ages ago." She replied shyly, her eyes glittering with pride that she refused to acknowledge.

He chuckled, then nudged her with a tire. "It's plenty good, Foxy. Better than any of us coulda done."

"Yeah, but only because you guys have tires and not fingers…" She replied with a small smile.

"I don't think I coulda done that even if I had fingers." He replied, making her blush slightly. "Ready to go back up to town?"

"Sure." She gave him a small smile, then followed him up.

**Ohh, Foxy and her beer... XDXDXD **

**I don't own 'SHOUT' The Isley Brothers do, and I don't own The Roadrunner or Wile E. Coyote, Warner Brothers do. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

After a while, he fell back to drive at her side. "I never knew ya were from the Poconos." He remarked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. It gets wayyyy too cold there, especially for me. I'd always have to sleep by the fireplace in winter because my room was freezing." She replied with a grin. "Not like here. All I've got to do is wear a scarf, mittens and my sweatshirt, then it's better then sleeping by the fire."

Strip chuckled, then asked how high the snow had gotten.

"I'd say two feet, maybe three if I remember correctly. You know, nothing blizzard-y, but still with plenty of snow to make a snowman." Foxy grinned sheepishly, and he nodded.

"Sounds like a lotta snow."

"Yeah, especially as a kid."

He laughed, then nudged her. "I think everyone woulda said that, Foxy."

She giggled, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

They made it back to town, and Foxy gave him a smile. "Thanks for keeping me company, Strip. I think I needed it."

He dipped his hood in a nod, then nudged her. "Looked like ya coulda used some."

The two looked up as a far off rumble of thunder sounded, and they noticed that the skies were filling with gray clouds. "Better get goin', Foxy."

"Yeah, I guess we should. See you tomorrow, Strip."

He gave her a smile, dipped his hood in another nod, then the two parted ways, Foxy heading to Fillmore's empty dome.

* * *

><p>She tried hiding under her bean bag chair, to no avail. At an especially loud crack of thunder, she yelped, then bolted outside, into the pouring rain. She went to the first place she could think of, which was Doc's clinic. She entered just as another crack of thunder echoed around her. With a yelp, she hid under the lift.<p>

Bus, who was watching her curiously when she burst into the doors, dripping wet with a crazed look in her eye, now pulled her out from underneath the lift, in case it lowered and crushed her. "Foxy, what's the matter?" Another bolt of lightning lit up the skies, followed by an enormous clap of thunder, making her yelp again and scramble underneath Bus' front bumper. "Hey, come out of there. I don't want to crush you."

She just uttered a whine and began shaking.

"Foxy, come on. You've gotta come out." He told her more firmly, reaching a tire underneath his bumper, trying to fish her out.

She clung to his tire frantically, catching him by surprise.

"Okayyy, that worked…" He muttered, and began slowly pulling his tire out. When he had her out in the open, he pinned her to his fender with the same tire. "Foxy, what's the matter? I've never seen you like this." Just then, a booming, rolling bout of thunder echoed across the skies, and she nearly shot into the air. He looked up, then back down at Foxy. "It's the thunder, isn't it?"

She nearly dove underneath his bumper again when another roar of thunder let loose.

"Okay, that answers that…" He pulled her back out again, and was about to order her to go back to Fillmore's when he caught a glance of her expression. She not only looked crazed, but terrified. In fact, she looked terrified out of her mind, and desperate.

He really didn't want her bunking with him for another night, but she seemed to have nowhere else to go. He sighed, then nodded slightly. "Tonight only. Then it's back over to your boyfriend's home." With that, he settled down in the corner of the clinic, curling a tire around her awkwardly, like a child hugging an oversized stuffed animal.

She whimpered softly, and he adjusted his near-death grip on her, loosening it slightly. He draped the blanket over her after draping it over his roof.

Snuggled up to his side, Foxy was out in fifteen minutes, curled up and sleeping quietly.

Bus looked down at her, then nudged against her a little more before resting his bumper on the floor and falling asleep as well. Outside, the storm raged on, but the the two were sleeping quietly.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the storm had rolled northeast, so was nowhere to be found. Foxy blinked her eyes open sleepily, finding a tire draped across her waist, as usual. She thought nothing of it, curled back up, and slept on.<p>

Bus however, was awake, and chuckled quietly at Foxy's sleepy reaction. He decided that it was time to get up and dropped the blanket over her, smiling as it fanned out mid-air to cover her entire body, including her face. All that there was to see was the tip of her tail and the tips of her ears. He rolled outside, heading for Flo's and some coffee.

As he settled into his newfound spot, he heard a yelp coming from the clinic. He pulled out, then headed back, only to find Foxy rolled up in the giant blanket like a burrito, and wrestling with it.

"Did chu do this?" She slurred, looking straight up at him.

He chuckled, shaking his front and grinning. He grabbed a hold of the end of the blanket, and tugged on it sharply. She was sent spinning away, straight into the lift and toppling over onto the floor. As she wobbled upright again, her knees gave out and she sank down to the floor again.

"Oh, Foxy. What're we going to do with you?"

She mumbled an answer, and he picked her up.

"You wanna go for a camping trip?" She asked finally, and he shrugged.

"Sure. It'll give us something to do while we wait for the group to get back." He replied, and Foxy went over to Fillmore's.

She grabbed her bag, then the two departed, telling them that they were going camping, and would be back within four days.

* * *

><p>They got up into the wilderness of Tailfin Pass, and set up the tent Foxy kept packed in her bag. She also pulled out something, tightly rolled up.<p>

He watched in shock as she undid the knot tying it together, and it flew open into a dog bed. "Why've you got one of those?" He asked, and she grinned.

"For emergencies." Was all she said before settling down in it with a sigh, exhausted from their hike.

"Don't you need a blanket?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"Got it covered." She replied, and pulled out a blanket, tossing it over herself. She looked like she was about to pull something out, but hesitated. "Don't laugh, all right?"

"Why would I?"

She hesitated a bit more, then slowly drew out her horse.

He looked at it with curiosity, much to her surprise. "What is it?"

"You're kidding, right? It's a stuffed animal. Something that only five-year-olds normally sleep with."

"Then why do you have one?"

Her ears went back, and an angry expression passed over her face.

He thought she was going to attack him, for one frightening moment, then it passed and she sighed wearily.

"Separation issues."

He nodded his front in understanding, and didn't say a word about it. She seemed to relax after that.

The two fell asleep quickly, Foxy curled up, actually looking like a dog, in a way. Bus had settled low on his tires, and he was snoring quietly, something Foxy would've found adorable, if she had been awake. There was the sound of something small hitting the tent, then another time. Soon, it sounded like it was being pelted by tiny rocks. Rain. It was beginning to pour, and to make it worse, a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead.

At once, Foxy was awake and had bolted out of the tent in a blind panic.

"Foxy, wait! Come back!" Bus called frantically after her disappearing red-and-yellow form. It was no use, as she was gone in the blink of an eye. Bus didn't know whether to go after her, or stay with the tent. His choice was quickly made, and he began packing up the tent and Foxy's things to go and find her. He finished as quickly as possible, then set off in her general direction, calling for her and hoping that she would come when called. He finally collapsed from exhaustion and diminishing hope, and didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep until he jerked awake.

It was just nearing dawn, and he got up, feeling the achy stiffness from being cold and wet for so long, not to mention not moving while in said state. He tried his best to shake off the moisture and cold, and continued on looking for Foxy. He kept moving deeper and deeper into the twisting maze of cliffs and boulders, hoping that there was an easier way out of the mess they were in.

Finally, he spotted a splash of red and yellow through the drizzle that was slowly turning into a regular rain. "Foxy?" He asked, sure that she'd either respond or move towards him and cling to his tire. When she didn't do either, he rolled closer, unsure if she was even awake.

With a startled gasp, he leapt backwards, almost about to drive off a cliff that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Now that he looked though, he could see Foxy was on a ledge below him, actually in the cliffs. He had no idea that she was afraid of heights, and had no idea how to get to her. "Foxy, can you hear me?" Still no response, and he tried not to think the worst.

He looked back, and saw that it was a straight passageway, perfect for gaining speed. He reversed back as far as he could go, only stopping when his rear end hit the cliff that signalled a bend in the path. He roared forwards with every ounce of speed and strength he could muster, and soon he took a blind leap, unsure if he would make it across, or if gravity would catch up with him and send him plummeting to what was surely his death. Luck was on his side, however, and his front wheels cleared the gap. His back wheels were another story. He had forgotten how long he was, and had miscalculated the distance. As he revved his engine ferociously, he was clawing with his front tires, his teeth gritted and bared, huffing like a bull through them.

Finally, with a great spin of his front tires, he scrambled upwards, and turned around with an air of triumphance. He looked down, trying to see Foxy, and was thankful for once for not having an extremely long hood. He looked straight down, and his oil ran cold.

Foxy's face was extremely pale, her eyes were shut tightly, and she wasn't moving. There was something running down her forehead, something that looked dark red. Whatever it was, there was a great stain in the dirt below her that the liquid seemed to connect to.

Somehow, he know that she was unconscious, and he tried to grab at her with his tires.

He could just barely reach her hair, and grabbed a huge tireful. He began pulling her up by the hair, wincing and imagining that it was extremely painful. What horrified him the most was the fact that her arm was bent at a completely unnatural angle. He had never seen it like that, and shuddered as he looked at it. It horrified him, but he just couldn't seem to look away. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her chest barely moving with each breath. He tried to wake her up, but to no avail.

Finally, he shouted out in frustration, and realized too late what he had done.

* * *

><p>He quickly grabbed her, and shoved her underneath his frame, hoping that she wouldn't get squashed. His thoughts gave him away, and he quickly shoved her back towards a cliff wall, hoping that she was under a stable ledge as the rocks began raining down upon the two. He tried not to scream in agony as the rocks crushed his roof and sides, but still let loose a few strangled yells of pain.<p>

He heard a small scream of pain, and felt some relief. At least she was awake. "Foxy?" A pained whimper told him that he'd been heard, and he continued. "Can you come find me?"

"N-No, I c-can't. My foot's stuck under a rock, and I think it's broken." She replied in a wavering tone, and he could tell that she was trying not to cry from the pain she was in.

He gave her points for that, because there were involuntary tears dripping from his windshield at the moment. "All right, just hold on. I'll see if I can get out of this." He tried to be comforting, but his teeth were gritted tightly against the pain that was building and throbbing along his entire form.

She whimpered again, and he began dragging himself through the rocks, sometimes pushing them aside so he could get to where she was.

When he saw her, he gasped. "Oh, we've got to get this off of you, Foxy!" He exclaimed quietly in horror, seeing the rock that was as big as she was firmly planted on her right ankle.

She inhaled sharply, shut her eyes, and bit her lip. Hard.

He pushed it as hard as possible, and slowly, it began rolling off her.

She whimpered quietly, and he grunted. "I know, almost there." He replied breathlessly, and continued pushing. With a loud _THUMP_, it fell to the ground at her side. "Okay, I don't think you'll be able to walk, much less get up."

She shook her head with another whimper, and he nuzzled her gently, his expression growing sadder with each passing minute.

* * *

><p>His eyes widened as he heard a growl, followed by another. "Oh, god no. No, no, no…" He murmured in horror, looking around frantically for the bodies that matched the growls. Of course, they blended in with the rock walls around them, so it was impossible to see them. "Foxy, you've got to get up, now. Otherwise, you'll be cat food. Literally." He hissed, and she nodded, having heard the growls also.<p>

She started to rise, but whimpered, shook her head, and slid back down, her face paling even more.

"Look, I'll help you." He got her standing, and the two began moving slowly towards the exit. Foxy shuddered in pain every time her foot hit the ground, and Bus would wince every time. Finally, they were within a few feet of the exit, but a tawny shape leaped in front of them with a snarl. "Foxy, give me your hand." Bus muttered, and she did. He used it to toss her onto his aching roof. "Now hold on tight. I've never done something like this before, so I don't know what's going to happen." He felt her get a good grip on the edges, and charged towards the cat, not slowing.

The cat was too stunned to move, and he kept speeding along. He rammed into the cat, and sent it flying. It landed on the ground, in his path once more, and didn't get up. He didn't slow, just ran straight over the cat. When he was sure that he had cleared it, he turned around to look. He wished he hadn't. He knew that he had felt something hit his axle, bruising it severely, and discovered that what it had been was the cat's head.

He shuddered as he looked upon the scene, and Foxy looked weakly at it.

Suddenly, she slid down his side, yelping in pain as she hit her bad ankle but not slowing in her hurried, hobbled gait, heading for the nearest bush.

Bus knew what she was going for, personally because he wanted to do it so very much himself.

In no time at all, the retching sounds came from behind the bush, along with something splattering as it hit the ground. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to block out the sounds and not vomit himself.

Thankfully, the sounds stopped after a while, and when he was sure it was safe, he slowly rolled over to Foxy. "Let's try and get back to town." He told her quietly, and she nodded soundlessly, laying over the bush and panting weakly, her eyes shut tightly once more.

Everything was beginning to ache and throb, and she just wanted to go home.

He nudged her good ankle gently, and offered a tire for assistance.

She reached behind her, trying to find it. The two connected, and she tried to haul herself upright. She felt weak, and especially dizzy, but knew that there were more mountain lions behind them. So she kept on hobbling, even when Bus asked if she wanted a ride. She just shook her head soundlessly.

Suddenly, Bus yelped and jumped. Behind him was a snarling mountain lion, and it wasn't backing down. He placed Foxy on his roof once more, and charged at the lion. He hit it, but it rolled and got up, then charged for him. He hit it again, but not before it landed a good swipe across his front end, making him inhale sharply and moan slightly. He continued rolling it over and crushing it even more, until he was sure it was dead.

Finally, his front wheels covered in blood, he pulled away to look numbly at the bloodied mess. He hadn't thought that there was that much blood in _anything_, especially not in an animal. He pulled away from it, and continued on through the winding paths, hobbling slightly. The lion had definitely injured his axle, he was sure of it.

He managed to hobble his way to a small clearing, and decided that they would set up the tent again. He unpacked everything by himself, and when he had finished setting things up, he gingerly set Foxy in her bed, setting her horse by her side, finding himself hoping that it would bring her some small comfort.

She instantly wrapped her arm around the raggedy-maned pony, cuddling the old-looking toy close.

He found himself wishing for something to cuddle, just to take the stress of everything away for a while. To his surprise, Foxy opened her eyes weakly, seemed to recognize his expression, and nodded her head weakly to the bag she had packed. It still looked like there was something in it, and he reached a tire in, coming out with a large, plush teddy bear.

It was a chocolate brown, nearly black, with caramel markings for its pads on its paws and its muzzle. It was amazingly soft and fuzzy, and he looked at her incredulously.

She just gave him a faint, weary smile, which he returned. "I had wanted a pillow, so I made him. Right now though, I think you need him more than I do." She explained, and he thanked her, snuggling his battered bumper into the bear's soft belly. It was incredibly plush, not being too hard, but seeming to be stuffed full of stuffing.

"How'd you know to bring him?"

"I'm not sure. It was just like something was nagging me to bring him."

"You made him? As in, stuffed him and everything?"

"Sure did. I remember my cousin had a bear smaller than this one, and I wanted to make a big bear, just like it. Turns out I made it a little too big."

"No, he turned out perfect." Bus replied, stifling a yawn as he snuggled the bear, glad to have some comfort.

Foxy smiled weakly, then inhaled sharply, cringing as she tried to move into a more comfortable position.

"What's wrong? You didn't hurt anything else, did you?"

"No, I don't think so. It's just that everything hurts from that fall, and the rocks." She whimpered, and he rolled closer, cringing at the pain in his axle, roof, and front. "You?"

"Pretty much the same."

"Look at us. It's so expected that we'd manage to even screw up camping for a few nights and get ourselves nearly killed."

Bus chuckled weakly, and gently laid a tire over her, wincing as he did so. He had the bear in one tire, her in another, and his battered body was finally able to get some sleep.

Foxy soon followed suit, and the two were able to achieve relief, at least for a few hours.

**Yeah... bit of a wake-up to those of you who thought that this chapter was gonna be all sweet and happy. XD**

**I will say that the reason it's so... extreme... is because I was trying out the 'lost in the wilderness, end up testing their limits' scenario, and that's why it's sectioned weird. :/ **

**Anyway, I'm glad you guys like this one, and did you see the little 'Easter egg' I put in about Foxy's having a dog bed for emergencies? That's from another one of my stories, if you remember which one and who gave it to her you'll get an Internet Cookie. ^^**

**About that bear: Yeah, my cousin has one just like it, and it's huge, and I love it. ^^ I want to know where my cousin got it, because it's the perfect wrestling partner, or lounge chair! It's like four feet tall, and it's in a sitting position, and it looks just like the one Bus pulls out of Foxy's magic bag. XD**


	8. Chapter 8

Dawn came, and Bus hauled his bruised and beaten frame up, at least somewhat. He decided that getting up seemed like too much work at the moment, so he decided to just lower himself back to the ground and keep sleeping.

Foxy awoke with a groan, and placed a hand to her head, only to pull it back at the stickiness. She looked at her hand, and there was dark red blood in her palm. "Oh, shit. I'm bleeding." She replied with amazement and slight surprise, then asked Bus if he could hand her the bag.

He passed it over to her, and she pulled a human first aid kit out. "Hey, where'd you get that?"

"I found it in a dumpster, but I'm afraid that it's only for humans." She replied in a depressed tone of voice, and he looked confused. "There's stuff in here that could catch on fire if we used them on you." She explained, and he nodded understandingly, choosing to watch her as she bandaged up the cut on her head awkwardly.

It was interesting, watching her fumble with a simple bandage when she could replace an exhaust system with precision.

"Here, let me see if I can do it." He offered, and she nodded. He was able to get it successfully wrapped and secured in under five minutes.

"How'd you do that so fast?"

"Not sure, really. It just seemed like the thing to do…"

She gave him a weak smile, and went to stand up. With a quiet bleat, she crumpled almost instantly, the pain in her ankle too severe to even think about moving it. Her arm, also. It hung lifelessly at her side, and she was sure that she had fractured her shoulder blade. "We're going to need to get moving. Even though it's daytime, those lions could come back." She replied, and he nodded, hauling himself upright once more.

Every part of him was sore, and he could guess the same for Foxy.

The two packed everything up, then continued heading towards what they hoped was the exit.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before it started raining again, and they set up the tent again, deciding it best if they just stayed where they were for the time being. The two collapsed into their chosen spots for sleeping, and didn't say much. They both had decided that they needed a good snuggle, and again the stuffed animals were brought out. It wasn't long before the two began shivering, the cold wind piercing the tent's fabric. Luckily, Bus had packed the blanket Foxy had given him, and the two huddled underneath that, quickly falling asleep.<p>

They weren't even sure what day it was anymore, only that they had been lost for quite a while.

They kept going as far as they could each day, the distance they could travel seeming to diminish with each day.

Soon, they began to suspect that they were going in circles. When they came upon nothing they had seen before, they decided that it only seemed that way.

They finally found the exit some many days later, and Foxy hobbled as fast as she could towards it, biting her lip to try and ward off the pain the whole way.

Bus was following her at a much slower pace, sure that he was nearly on empty. "Hey, Foxy, I think I'm out of fuel." He called, and she froze.

She instantly turned back and hobbled back to his side. Thankfully, they weren't too far from Wheel well, and she began pushing, leaning her weight against him, trying to get him rolling again, using her dysfunctioning arm and ignoring the pain that shot through it. "C'mon, c'mon…" She grunted, forcing herself to ignore the dizzying rush of colors that flashed before her eyes, and the pain that flashed through her arm and foot.

"Foxy, don't, you'll only hurt yourself even more." He cautioned, but she ignored him too.

Soon, he was rolling down a small hill, and she scrambled onto his roof, holding on tightly. He still had the ability to brake, and lurched to a stop in front of Wheel Well, several things squeaking and screeching. He cringed at the sound, but Foxy ignored that, as well.

She went to the doors, and tugged, expecting it to open. It didn't, and she was jolted. She tried again, with the same results. Her shoulder sagged. Of course Sally would have locked it up if she wasn't going to be up here for a while. "Looks like we're stuck without fuel for you." She replied glumly, and the two decided to pitch the tent again, figuring that they would think of something.

They fell asleep that night worn out, exhausted, and with a dull ache everywhere. The two were snuggled close together for comfort, Bus with the bear underneath his front bumper, using it as a pillow, while Foxy was in her dog bed, curled up as best as she could with her injuries and clutching her horse tightly in her one good arm.

As she awoke, she could hear voices, but they sounded distant. She tried to focus on what they were saying, but she was still exhausted, so after lifting her head weakly, it flopped back down again.

* * *

><p>Lightning and Sally had gone up to Wheel Well to check how it had fared, and found a tent. They looked inside, and discovered two familiar, badly beaten figures. By glancing at the horse, they were able to ascertain that it was Foxy and Bus.<p>

As soon as he spotted her eyes blinking open, Lightning tried talking to her, to find out what happened.

She raised her head for about five seconds, then to their horror, it dropped back into the bed she was laying in.

Lightning had sped back to town to alert Doc that they had been found while Sally stayed with them. This time, it was Bus who moaned and managed to drag himself awake long enough to recognize Sally. She began asking questions, but he heard none of them.

He just settled back down on the bear and looked over at Foxy with a mixture of weary fear and exhaustion. She looked to have moved slightly, which he thought was a promising sign, and it was then that he noticed a blur of red speeding towards them, followed closely by a blue and chrome blur.

"He's awake now? Is he competent?"

Sally shook her hood, and Doc rolled forwards, quickly looking the two of them over. He then looked at the bloodied tent, and nodded, as though confirming something.

"They've been puttin' it up themselves, even though they're injured like this." He reversed out of the tent, and told Lightning to go get Mater.

He nodded once, and was off like a shot.

Sally remained behind with Doc, taking the tent down so Mater could get to Bus.

Mater and Lightning arrived, and the tow truck stared in openmouthed shock at the duo.

"Kid, you take Foxy. But keep 'er in that thing, if ya can. It should prevent her from sliding around."

He nodded, then picked the bed up, carefully setting it on his hood. Foxy, who was unconscious, didn't even react. Mater hooked his tow hook up to Bus's front bumper, and began pulling with all his might.

Bus slowly began inching forwards, and the group made their way back to town, Doc and Sally carrying the tent and bags.

* * *

><p>As Lightning looked down at her worriedly, he could see her eyes beginning to flutter open. "Foxy, can you hear me?" He asked, and she cringed before nodding slightly.<p>

"A-Are we home yet?"

He glanced up at the road, then back down to her. "Almost. What happened to you two?"

"Storm… running… jumped a canyon… knocked out… rocks falling... Bus… cougars… dead…" She managed to whimper, but he understood. There had been a storm, she had taken off running, tried to jump a canyon, failed, knocked herself out and injured herself, then there was a rock avalanche. The rest he couldn't understand, since it had turned into a mumble.

"Hey, c'mon, you've got to stay awake." He told her firmly, but it did nothing.

She settled into the bed more, and was out again in a few minutes.

He sighed, and glanced back at the rest of the rescue group. They all looked relieved, and he was sure that he looked the same way. He rolled straight into the clinic with her, and heard Doc and Mater follow him. He set her down in a corner of the room, bed and all, while Mater put Bus on the lift.

He was looking around calmly, seemingly too out of sorts to comprehend what was going on at the moment.

Mater left, but Lightning stayed, helping Doc fix each of them up.

"Look at this, kid." He nudged the rookie with a tire, and nodded at Bus' front wheels, which were still bloody.

"Think it's from her?"

"I didn't see any blood on her, other than the cut." Doc replied, and suddenly Lightning's eyes widened.

"Foxy woke up during the ride down here, and she said that she had run because of the storm, tried to jump over a canyon, had missed, hit the canyon wall and knocked herself out, got caught in a rock avalanche, then she mumbled something about Bus, cougars, and dead. I couldn't make out any more."

"That's because there wasn't any more, kid. Put them three together."

Lightning thought about it for a few moments, then his eyes grew impossibly wide. "He killed more than one!" He exclaimed, and Doc nodded.

"Explains the blood. Go check on her. Make sure she's all right."

Lightning nodded, and rolled over to her. At first he couldn't see much wrong with her, but then he spotted her out-of-whack shoulder, and her crushed ankle, and he knew something was wrong. "There's something wrong with her shoulder, and with her ankle."

The Hornet rolled over to his side, and soon discovered that all was not well with Foxy. "She's next. See if ya can untangle her from that… thing." He replied, not sure what the bed was.

Lightning nodded, and managed to slip her horse out of her grasp after picking her up gingerly out of her bed. He carried her over to where Doc was, then set her horse back in the bed.

Doc set about trying to get her shoulder and ankle back into position, then, after successfully doing that, set her in a bed down the hall from Bus.

Lightning took her horse and the bed along, and deposited the horse at her side, sure that she'd be wondering where it was. "Now all that's left is them waking up." Lightning sighed, lowering himself on his tires.

When Doc didn't respond, Lightning looked up. "They will, won't they?"

There was almost an innocent, childlike tone in his voice, and his worried expression made him look like even more of a child. Doc sighed, then nodded. "Eventually, yes. They will."

Lightning sighed, actually lowering a few inches to the floor.

The two rolled out of the clinic a few minutes later, planning to tell everyone what had happened to Foxy and Bus.

Once they did, the others' worry only grew.

Doc went over a few hours later, and was amazed to find Foxy in the main room, snuggled up next to Bus. What surprised him even more was when she raised her head to look up at him.

She gave him a small, sheepish smile, and he chuckled, just rolling by without a word. She watched him go, sure that she would be getting a lecture. When there was none, she sighed quietly, and settled down next to Bus once more.

* * *

><p>She was awoken the next morning by the sunlight filtering in through the window and a gentle nuzzling. When she looked to see who it was, she nearly screamed in surprise.<p>

Fillmore just chuckled and continued nuzzling her.

"Hi…" She whispered, and he returned the greeting.

"Ya scared us mighty good, Elizabeth. We all got back, and found out that you'd gone for a campin' trip, but hadn't come back when you said that you would've."

"I'm sorry, there was the canyon, the rockfall, and the mountain lions, and we got lost on top of all that." She replied, and he nuzzled her gently.

The two looked over as Bus moaned quietly, slowly coming to. "Foxy? Where are we?"

"In the clinic, Bus. We're safe." She replied with a smile.

"Well, let's both agree never to go camping again…"

"I second that motion." Foxy replied, and Fillmore chuckled.

The others were coming in to visit the two during the passing weeks, until Doc finally deemed them well enough to leave.

Bus rolled out of the clinic, Foxy riding on his roof.

"Kids are coming, kids are coming!" She hissed with a grin, and Bus looked up at her, trying not to laugh. Sure enough, the children rounded the turn that led to Willy's Butte, and soon were crowded around Bus, hugging him and begging for Foxy to come down.

He had never been accepted by children before, and didn't know what to think.

"Well go on. They want hugs, Bus." Foxy told him, and he looked up at her before wrapping a tire around Nikki and pulling him close.

Nikki giggled, his tires wiggling happily.

Bus chuckled, and just like that, the other children were clamoring for his attention. He lifted Nikki onto his roof so he could see Foxy, and soon the children were all begging to be picked up. Bus looked up to Foxy, who was hugging Nikki tightly and rubbing his roof.

"They deserve some Foxy time." She told him with a smile, then he lifted them up, one by one. "All right, now don't tackle me all at once, otherwise I'll fall off." She cautioned, and one by one, each child leaped into her arms for some snuggling.

Harry may have pounced her a _little_ too forcefully, but she didn't mind. She knew that he loved her, and was positive that he had been extremely worried about her. To her surprise, the children found Bus equally entertaining, and soon were hugging his roof, giggling.

"Hey, cut it out, that tickles." He mumbled, grinning and trying not to laugh. "But it's sort of swell." He replied, gazing up at the group of giggling children. He felt one drop over the edge, and without looking, he caught them quickly.

"Hi!" Sara grinned, not looking at all surprised that he had caught her.

"Hello." He replied, chuckling. He set her down, and another child seemed to think that what Sara had done looked like fun, because another child dropped off his roof. He caught them, and rolled his eyes as Paul giggled like a maniac.

"Paul, how many times have I told you, that's not good for you to do! What if he hadn't have caught you?" Foxy scolded, but he just giggled even more and sped away. Foxy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I tell him and tell him and _TELL_ him not to do something, but what does he do? He completely ignores me! It's like it goes in one side of his roof and out the other!" She replied in exasperation, and Bus laughed.

He felt one of the kids jump, but never felt them land.

"Oh, no you don't! You're not doing the same thing as your brother and sister, Harry! If you want to get down, ask nicely."

"Can I get down?" He asked, peering over Bus' roof to look him in the eyes.

Bus grinned up at the little 'Cuda peeking over his roof, and raised up a tire. "Sure."

Harry laughed, then clung to the tire with a grin.

Bus brought him down, and he took off after giving him a hug.

**Aww, I love this chapter's ending. ^^ **

**EmilyTheBrave, good guess! It was actually from Home Is Where The Heart Is, and the main car that isn't a member of the town, 'Dave', gives it to her, telling her that she can use it 'for emergencies'. And ohh, do you? That's awesome! ^^ Foxy's had hers since she was three, and if she's roughly... ehh... say... eighteen? When this story takes place... Yeah, raggedy-pony indeed. XD**

**You guys thought that chapter was intense? Yay! :D I can write scary chapters! :DD **

**Again, sorry for the late chapter, didn't feel like uploading it all day, then my bf took me out for dinner with his family. :3**


	9. Chapter 9

Eventually, all the children had been put down, and Foxy had slid down his side. "They like you." She commented with a smile, looking over at him.

"I can tell." He replied with a grin.

"Have you had enough, or am I gonna have to set them on you again?" She teased gently, nudging him in the side.

He laughed then called to the kids for an answer. "Hey, Foxy said that she wants more hugs!" At once, the small herd of cheering children were racing towards her, the adults laughing.

Foxy took off like a shot towards Willy's Butte, the sun beginning to sink lower in the sky.

He laughed then went after the group, figuring that a little more playtime couldn't hurt. As he looked back over the months, he couldn't believe how much he had changed, and it was all because of the townsfolk, and Foxy. He couldn't even remember why he had been alone for so long, or why he had been miserable to others. It was as though he had died, then come back to live a completely different life, a better one. This thought hit him so hard that he braked suddenly. Had he died? His brow furrowed in confusion and thought, and he wasn't watching where he was going. He caught up to Foxy, and actually bumped into her.

"Hey!" She yelped in surprise, thinking that it was one of the children. She turned around, and saw Bus. "Bus? Hellooo, earth to Bus!" She called, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?" He asked, and blinked rapidly, shaking his front a little. "Foxy, am I dead?" He asked, and the question took her by surprise, so much that she sat down abruptly.

"Why in the world would you ask that?"

"Because I was all miserable and grumpy before, but not any more. I know that I was out for a long time, and during that, anything could've happened. So is it true that I could've died, but come back with a completely different attitude?"

She crouched down, looking as though she was explaining something to a child. "Bus, when someone dies, there are several signs to clue one in that they're dead. One. They have no heartbeat. Next one. They aren't able to move, or get their motor started. Last one. They look like they're dead. There's no color in their eyes, they're all glassy and they don't really blink. You're not dead, trust me. I would know. I've-I… I know what it looks like when somebody's dead. As hard as you try, they don't answer you when your throat is ragged from screaming their name, and they don't move, not even a twitch. Then, you see them in the coffin, and you know it's for real, that they really are dead." She finished, her eyes distant and misting up.

He could nearly see the agony grappling for control over her normal, happy expression. He nudged her, hard, hard enough to send her back to her rear in the dirt.

That seemed to snap her out of it, and she blinked a few times.

"So I'm not dead. Thanks." He replied, nudging her up.

She nodded, then continued on to the group of children, who had sped ahead.

He charged after her, and grabbed her around the waist, making her shriek in surprise.

"Bus, let go!" She exclaimed, squirming and giggling.

He laughed, shaking his front 'no'. "Not until you cheer up."

She continued fighting, and he only tickled her more, the children watching with delight.

Harry began giggling, and Bus looked over at him. "What're you laughing at, munchkin?" He growled, and chased after him playfully, sending Harry into peals of laughter. He eventually caught him and began tickling him. Harry was able to break free, and took off. Bus grinned and decided to go after Paul, who took off like a shot. Soon, he too was caught and mercilessly tickled. Soon, it was Sara's turn, and she squealed, kicking out her back tires as he rolled her onto her roof so she couldn't get away. He laughed, then flipped her back over, watching as she took off. He was just about to go after Nikki when the little truck jumped and latched onto his side, laughing like a loon. Bus watched him, laughing too hard to respond.

"Yeah, he can climb, so be careful." Foxy warned, laughing.

Nikki began scrambling up Bus' side, and made it to his roof. "I'm king of the Bus!" He proclaimed triumphantly, his front end raised proudly. The others fell into peals of laughter, not noticing that they now had an audience.

Lightning and Doc had come down to practice, but decided to wait when they noticed the group.

"Looks like she really sorted him out." Doc chuckled, seeing Nikki take a flying leap off Bus' roof, directly into Foxy's arms.

Lightning grinned, watching the same thing. "Yeah, she did. That's just her though. Nobody can resist her, not even Sarge."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far, rookie."

Lightning just chuckled, then went down to the track to engage in playtime. Doc sighed, and followed after the rookie.

The group of children squealed when Lightning and Doc rolled down, instantly swarming the two and begging them to play. "Sure. What are you all playing?"

"_TACKLE LIGHTNING!_" Foxy exclaimed, leaping for the racer.

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed, but it was too late. The human and the children all pounced on him, rendering him unable to move.

Doc chuckled, finding immense humor in Lightning's predicament.

"Come on, get off!" He whined, shaking his hood to try and get Foxy off. She was flung off, and landed a few feet away.

"That was awesome! Me next!"

"No, me!"

"Me next!"

"I want a try!"

"Okay, okay! One at a time, one at a time!" Lightning exclaimed, and the children cheered. Harry was first, and Lightning launched him, squealing, into the air, not too high but just enough to make him feel a rush of excitement.

Foxy caught him, then set him on the ground.

"Next!" Lightning called, and Paul hopped on.

"Throw me really high!" He exclaimed.

"Really high? Are you sure?"

"Yeahyeahyeah!"

"You sure you're sure?"

"Yes, yes!"

"Mmmm..okay, here goes!" Lightning tossed him into the air, just a little bit higher than Harry and Foxy.

He shouted with glee, his tires flailing wildly.

"Watch it, Paul! Don't knock me out!" Foxy called, and he instantly stopped flailing.

"Mwahaha, that was fun!" He exclaimed, bouncing in her grasp.

Foxy laughed, and set him down.

He was instantly spinning around, doing donuts. "_WHOOOO!_" He exclaimed, making the others laugh.

"Next!" Lightning called, and Sara hopped on.

"Not too high." She told him, and he nodded. He tossed her about as high as he had tossed Harry, and Foxy caught her. "That was fun!" She exclaimed with a giggle.

"Oooh, oooh, my turn! My turn!" Nikki exclaimed, and Lightning flung him into the air. He did a flip, and Foxy caught him wrong side up, his rear bumper facing towards her face.

"If you fart…" She warned, and he began giggling. There was a sound that sounded suspiciously like a fart, and Foxy's face contorted into one of disgust. She dropped Nikki instantly, and began fanning the air in front of her. "Nikki, ugh! What did you eat?!"

The others began laughing hysterically, but none more then Nikki. He was nearly falling all over himself, giggling too hard to respond.

Lightning was a close second, tears leaking out the corners of his windshield as he pounded a tire against the ground.

"Ya jinxed it, Foxy."

"Want to smell another one?!" Nikki squealed, and Foxy recoiled. Too late. He had already released another stink bomb, and the others lost it.

"Ughhh…." She replied, her facial expression hysterical as she tried to fan away the fumes of Nikki's farts.

Bus was lying on the ground, his sides shaking with his snickers.

"Here, you think it's so funny, have some!" She squealed, and began fanning the smell towards Bus.

"Blegh!" He instantly got a whiff of it, his tongue flopping out, one eye squinting shut.

Doc was chuckling quietly, far enough away not to get a blast.

Lightning was on his roof in the dirt, giggling like a five-year-old, kicking his back tires out. Watching him, it wasn't long before Foxy was doing the equivalent, on her back as she hugged her sides. Finally, panting slightly and giggling weakly, she sat up. "All right, Lightning, it isn't that funny anymore." She told him, and he instantly grinned stupidly with a suppressed snicker, still on his roof.

He looked so absolutely ridiculous that Foxy began laughing again. This of course made him laugh even harder.

She sank down to the ground again, leaning against his side.

* * *

><p>Finally, the two regained some amount of control, long enough for her to flip him back over with an extremely loud <strong>THUMP<strong>. "_Sheezus_, Lightning!" She exclaimed, and he began giggling again.

He couldn't help it.

She covered her face with her hands, trying not to laugh but failing miserably. Her hands fell away from her eyes, revealing hysterical tears sparkling in the corners. She was still trying not to laugh, and pressed a fist against her mouth.

This only seemed to egg him on, and his giggling became quiet laughter.

She just shook her head, giving up to his laughter. Soon, the two had managed to get themselves under control, and Foxy looked to him alertly.

He made eye contact with her, and the two instantly looked away, giggling again.

Foxy tried to stop, but it was futile. "All right, are we good now?" She asked, and her voice wavered.

Lightning nodded, not looking at her.

"Lightning…"

He turned to look at her, and had to suppress another snicker. He swallowed it back down, and nodded without another sound.

"Okay, good."

"You guys are weird." Mariana replied, looking from one to the other.

"Thanks, I try." Foxy replied, then tossed her to Lightning. "I think it's her turn."

He nodded, and flung her into the air. She squealed, and Foxy caught her.

Mariana blew a raspberry at Foxy, then giggled.

Foxy smiled, and set her down.

Next up was Jack, and she sailed through the air with an excited shout. Foxy caught her, and a tight hug was delivered. Jack squirmed to get down, and Foxy let her. "Now, my turn!" Foxy exclaimed, and Lightning grinned. She ran at him, her arms flapping wildly, and the two began laughing again. "Okay, seriously though." She replied, and he smirked.

"How do you ask nicely?"

She put on a puppy-dog pout, and the eyes to match. "Pwease?" She asked, her tail curling around her ankle, her ears back.

He snickered, and scooped her up.

"Yeah! Thanks, Light!"

"Sure thing, Foxy." He gave her a grin, and chucked her with a bit more force than was necessary towards Doc.

She shrieked in surprise as she sailed high into the sky, then began descending quickly.

Doc was watching her descent carefully, and at the last second caught her in his tires.

"Thanks, Doc." She grinned, and he chuckled.

"Sure thing, Foxy."

"Mind tossing me over to Lightning?"

He shook his hood, then lined up his shot. He sent her sailing towards Lightning, her hair streaming out behind her.

She had a large, demented grin on her face, and she looked positively wild as she came towards his hood.

His expression of horror wasn't lost on the others, and she landed squarely on his hood. "Great shot, Doc!" She called with a grin and a thumbs up.

He chuckled and nodded.

"You looked like that creepy lady from the movie about the spotted dogs!" Harry exclaimed, and Foxy grinned.

"Cruella De Ville. Did I really?"

Lightning nodded, having gotten over his fright.

"Sweet." She replied, and slid off his hood.

Nikki scrambled up her legs, up her back, then finally took his position on her shoulder.

"I told you he could climb." Foxy replied, looking over at Bus with a smug expression.

Bus' bumper had nearly fallen off as he watched Nikki climb up Foxy like a tree trunk. "Can any of them do it?"

"I dunno. None of them ever have. Wait, why are we even discussing this? What is this, climb-the-Foxy?" Nikki giggled, and she instantly frowned in disgust. "You farted again, didn't you?" She asked, and all she got was an evil laugh. "Nikki…" She scolded, and the others laughed. "Why do you only fart on me?"

"'Cause. It's funny." He replied with a large toothy grin.

Foxy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Of course it is."

"It is!" Lightning replied, snickering.

"Hey, shut it. Don't egg him on, otherwise, you'll be the one smelling it, not me. Gahh, **_whew_**, that one had a bit of a linger to it, Nikki."

The little truck was draped limply over her shoulder, giggling too hard to respond.

Lightning was grinning stupidly and snickering, along with Bus.

Doc seemed to be the only one not laughing, at least not outright. He was chuckling and shaking his hood. "You two make quite a pair." He replied, and Foxy laughed.

"Thanks. But he's the brains behind this operation. Or should I say, the sounds and smells." She started giggling at that, along with the rest of the group.

"You really should be a comedian, Foxy. I think you'd be really good at it."

"I'm not all that funny in real life. I've got to have the right circumstances for it to be funny. Either that, or just have a show about all the random crap that spews from my mouth."

"Ew?"

"Not literal crap. I meant like the random stuff I seem to always be saying. Like… Ohh, crap. I forgot." She replied with a sigh.

**This chapter has got to be one of my favorites to type, just because it's one of those scenarios that you just want to jump in and be a part of. ^^**


	10. Chapter 10

The others chuckled, and Foxy decided that the group play tag. The children scattered at once, knowing what was coming. As soon as Nikki was off her shoulders, she took off after the first child she saw, running as fast as she could.

"She's gotten much faster!" Lightning exclaimed, watching her leap for Paul, then roll to the ground with him in her grasp, creating a cloud of dirt.

The two laughed, and she looked up to Lightning. "You gonna play, or what?"

"Sure, why not?" He replied with a shrug and a grin, rolling towards her.

"Good, because I'm it!" She replied with a wicked grin.

He took off down the track with her right on his tail, running on all fours so she could go faster, looking like a cheetah as she stretched out across the ground. Bus' bumper actually dropped in shock as the two sped by him. "She's fast!" He exclaimed, watching her in amazement.

"She sure is. She's the fastest one at tag, even against a car." Doc replied, watching her go.

Lightning hung a sharp left, and Foxy followed, her hands and feet churning up an even thicker ribbon of red dirt. She was closing in on him, and not because he was slowing down. If anything, he was going faster. He hung a sharp right, trying to perform evasive maneuvers. She matched him turn for turn, barely slowing.

"She has gotten faster. She never used to be able to keep up with him like that before." Doc replied, surprised.

She put on a burst of speed, weaving around the bushes and rocks, and lunged for his trunk. She landed and gripped it tightly.

He slid to a stop, both of them panting like dogs. "Good. Job. Foxy." He gasped, and she could only nod, her tongue flopping out.

"That was incredible, Foxy!" Bus replied, and Foxy nodded, too exhausted to speak as of yet.

"You need to work on your endurance a little more. Otherwise, that was pretty good." Doc told her, rolling down to meet the two.

She nodded again, still gasping for breath. With an enormous huff, she looked up, her eyes shining brightly. "Was it that good?" She asked, and they nodded.

"You were super fast, Foxy!" Nikki exclaimed, scrambling up onto her shoulder.

"I was just super fast? I wasn't super duper fast?" She teased, giving him a smile.

He giggled, then nodded. "You were super duper DUPER fast."

"I was that fast, huh?" She gave him a grin and tickled him, making him grin and start squirming. "I'm ready for another round. Anyone else?" She asked, looking around eagerly.

"Again?"

"Yeahyeahyeah." She replied eagerly, her tail wagging and her ears pricked.

"Let's see if you can keep up with me, Foxy." Was all Doc said before speeding off.

She was momentarily frozen with surprise, but took off after him quickly.

"She actually did it. She actually got him to participate for once." Lightning replied, completely floored by the situation.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Bus asked, and Lightning glanced his way.

"He never plays tag. He thinks it's a kid's game."

Meanwhile, Doc was swerving around rocks and bushes, cutting straight through the center of the track, zigzagging back and forth. Foxy was staying a few feet behind him the entire time, not even bothered by the dirt Doc was churning up. She herself was contributing to the cloud as she turned on a dime, running as fast as she could.

To her shock, Doc stopped suddenly, sliding to a stop. Her shock quickly grew into horror, and she stuck her feet out in front of her hands, trying to use her heels as a braking system. It worked, although she came within inches of his back bumper. "Geez!"

Just like that, he was off again, laughing at his trick. She took off after him with a small growl, having too much fun to genuinely be angry. He led her up onto the wall, and jumped off it at the end. She followed suit, both of them on the well-worn track now. The two continued their game, Doc slightly ahead of Foxy. She lunged for him just as they crossed the finish line, trying to stretch her body out as much as possible. She landed on his trunk, and he braked suddenly.

"You're gettin' better, Foxy. Definitely need to be alert to everythin' that's goin' on though." He told her, and she nodded, flopping down in the dirt, kicking a small cloud up.

The dirt that the two had sent into the air was settling, and most of it was either on Foxy or Doc. The two didn't seem bothered by it in the least, Foxy just shaking her head from side to side to get rid of it. Her hair exploded, sending even more dirt raining down. Doc chuckled, then followed suit, albeit a bit more rigidly, for obvious reasons. There was dirt raining down everywhere, and Foxy shook her head even more, her dog tags chattering wildly.

* * *

><p>When she had finished, she looked up at the others, wearing a satisfied, smug expression. "Two racers down, no more to go." The others chuckled, and she grinned. "That! That is something that I could use in my completely random stuff that spews from my mouth!"<p>

"That sentence could also be used." Lightning replied, earning a prompt swat across the hood. "Hey! Don't beat me up!"

"I'm not beating you up, I'm trying to drive a lesson into your thick hood." She replied matter-of-factly, making Doc chuckle.

"All right you two, knock it off."

They looked over, nodded, and Foxy flopped down onto Lightning's hood, sprawled out.

"Comfy?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yep."

He uttered a snort of laughter, grinning down at her. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Nope." She replied, and Doc chuckled.

Nikki scrambled onto Lightning's hood, then onto Foxy's back. He draped himself across her back with a massive, bored sigh.

The others snickered, heading back up to the town.

"All of ya were down there for a while." Flo replied with a smile, seeing the trio of goofballs.

"Yeah, Foxy decided to show us that she's one of the fastest things in the human world."

"Yep." She replied, in exactly the same tone as before, and Lightning snickered. "It was fun. I even got Doc to play tag."

He shook his hood, obviously denying it. "That wasn't tag, Foxy. That was trainin'."

"Call it what you want, it was tag to me." She replied with a grin, and the others snickered. She yawned widely, and went to get up. Nikki tumbled off her back, and onto the pavement.

"Heeeyyy…" He whined, pouting and wrinkling his hood in slight anger. The others laughed, including Foxy.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I signed up to be anyone's bed." She retorted, and the others laughed again.

He frowned and began to sulk, at least until she picked him up and gave him a squeeze.

"Ohh, don't be like that. You know you love me." She told him, and he smiled before hugging her tightly.

"Yeah, I do."

"Awww." Lightning replied, grinning wickedly.

"I've got a child here. Don't make me use it." She threatened, and he pointed at her with a tire.

"There's another one!"

She covered her eyes with a hand, clearly giving up. Lightning's grin never faded; if anything, it grew.

"I'm going to bed and I'm posting my guard child outside."

"There's another one!" Lightning yelled to her retreating back.

In a flash, she had whirled around and leaped at him, showing her teeth. He squealed and took off, making the others laugh. "He sounded like a mouse!" She exclaimed, and the others agreed. He watched her from a distance, looking like a dog trying to stay away from a cat. She darted towards him, and he shot off towards his cone. A smug smile appeared on her face as she went over to Fillmore's, and nothing could take it away.

"He's the only one actually afraid of her." Sally replied, rolling her eyes with a sigh.

"That's 'cause he done knows her power." Mater replied matter-of-factly, and the others laughed.

"I heard that!" Came Foxy's shout, making the others laugh even more.

It wasn't long before Lightning crept into Fillmore's dome. Seconds after, there was a loud honking, and a piercing scream. "Lightning, I'm going to rip your tires off!" Came her shout, and he sped out of the dome, laughing wildly. Not far behind was Foxy, as always. "Get back here! When I'm finished with you-ohm!" She didn't get the chance to get another word out because Sheriff had deftly pinned her down and covered her mouth when she had gone past him. She struggled, but to no avail. He wouldn't let her go, or even speak. "Mhmmhmhmhmhmm." She laid her ears back, giving Sheriff an irritated look. When he didn't remove his tire, she opened her mouth and let her tongue flop out. His tire shot away from her like lightning, and she grinned evilly.

"She licked me!" He replied, making the others laugh.

"Yummm, tastes like rubber." Was all she had to say, her grin growing wider. The others laughed, and Sheriff rolled his eyes.

"Go to bed Foxy." He grumbled, and she nodded.

"I tried, but this giggling idiot decided that I'm not ready for bed yet." She pointed over her shoulder at Lightning with her thumb, and he grinned.

"Go get 'im then."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" She replied, then took off after Lightning again.

"I don't even have to go down to the track with 'im any more. I'll just let her chase him or the other way around." Doc replied with satisfaction and a chuckle to match. The others watched with interest as Lightning and Foxy flew by the cafe, first one way, then the other, then back again.

They did this for a good half an hour, at least until Lightning slowed and Foxy playfully chomped down on his tailfin. The ones who could see it cringed.

"That's gonna hurt in the mornin'." Sheriff replied, listening to Lightning's pained shriek.

"Foxy, let go!" He exclaimed frantically, trying to get her to loosen her death grip on his tailfin.

She mumbled something indiscernible, but didn't let go. She fixed her grip, and he shrieked again.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry! Please, let go!"

Just like that, she opened her mouth and dropped off his tailfin. "I got an apology and a please in one sitting? That's incredible!" She replied, and sent a warning look in Lightning's direction before heading back to Fillmore's dome.

Lightning waited, then crept back towards it.

"Don't you learn?" Sally asked him, not believing that he would be dumb enough to try it again.

He just waved a tire before entering.

* * *

><p>There was silence for a few seconds, then an animal-like noise, followed by a shriek and Lightning speeding out of the dome.<p>

"This time, I'm going to mean this. You really are a moron, Stickers." Sally replied, and Lightning rolled his eyes, snuggling into her side.

"What did she do this time?"

"She just snarled at me. Again." Lightning replied, looking down at his hood, refusing to look at Doc.

"Sally's right, kid. Don't ya ever learn?"

"Hey!"

Foxy uttered a loud growl, and Lightning stiffened before zooming into his cone, then closing the door.

**Unfortunately, this is the end of Finding Bus, my dear readers, I'm sad to say. However! There will be more stories, and I shall upload one right after this, to make up for my lack of uploading on Saturday! :)**

* * *

><p><strong>So, a more detailed description on Bus: He's I'm thinking the size of a regular city bus, the double windshields(which are black) He's got brown eyes, if you remember. He's roughly... twenty two, twenty three, so he can legally drink. He's got that kind of scruffy beard that doesn't get longer, it just gets coarse, and he's also got a pinstripe that forms three towers, and at the highest one is a crown, the coloring's red and black(not from Ramone) He's got wide black stripes running the length of his sides, I'd say about a foot wide, if that helps put it in perspective. He's also got a large ACDC logo on his roof, white lettering with the lightning bolt for the slash. His bumper stickers read, 'I don't stop for stupid', and 'I don't brake for idiots'. **

**Just to give you guys a better picture of what he looks like, and how Foxy sees him, I'm sorry it's at the end. XD I thought I had placed one at the beginning, but I went and looked and realized that there isn't. XDXD**


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